Research seminar
Rethinking Geographies of Citizenship
September 4, 2014, 10.15-13.00
Rådsstyresalen, Lucy Smith's hus
Programme
The seminar will explore a broad conception of citizenship as a common frame for geographical
research on topics such as democratization struggles, transnationalism, labour mobilization and
media representations. Towards this purpose, five thematic presentations will examine different
dimensions, spatialities and politics of citizenship. The presentations will be followed by a discussion
on spatiality and citizenship as a possible focal point for political geographic scholarship at the
University of Oslo.
Spatiality and politics of citizenship
Kristian Stokke (Department of Sociology and Human Geography, UiO)
The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it provides a brief conceptual review of popular politics of
citizenship, emphasizing ‘politics of membership’ revolving around the construction of political
communities and recognition of cultural differences within such communities, and ‘politics of rights’
around substantial rights and political representation. Second, the paper examines recent work on
spatiality in contentious politics as a possible framework for spatializing studies of politics of
citizenship. The paper is primarily theoretical in orientation, but draws on brief exemplifications from
politics of formal and substantial democratization in Burma/Myanmar and Indonesia.
What does it take to belong? Citizenship beyond legal status in the context of migrant
transnationalism
Marta Bivand Erdal (Peace Research Institute, Oslo)
This paper seeks to add to the vast literature on citizenship in geography, through a focus on three
distinct questions, set within the context of interrelations between citizenship, mobility and
transnationalism. First, what does it take to belong, or, how do migrant receiving-states address the
challenge of including immigrant residents and their descendants into definitions of nationhood,
peoplehood and citizenship within their territorial boundaries. Second, can you belong in two places,
or, how do migrant receiving-states address the challenge of dual loyalties shared between two (or
more) territorially bounded nation-states, particularly with reference to the possibility of holding
dual citizenship. Third, what are the spatial sites of citizenship, or, how do migrant receiving-states
address the challenge of locating citizenship spatially within their territorial boundaries in the context
of immigration, emigration and transnationalism. The idea for this paper stems from interactions
with migrants and descendants, in the context of research about their transnational ties with their
country of origin, and simultaneously on their settlement and integration processes.
Workers, citizenship and precarious employment
David Jordhus-Lier (Department of Sociology and Human Geography, UiO)
I will discuss three subject positions which I have encountered in ongoing and previous research,
which all shed light on the relationship between citizenship and work: first, the Swedish workers
coming to Norway for temporary employment; secondly, domestic workers in Indonesia; and, thirdly,
municipal workers in post-apartheid Cape Town. In particular, I will reflect on how the citizenship of
precarious workers can be expressed through collective organisation and membership. Workers in
precarious employment situations often do not see trade unions as the most appropriate form of
collective action and the three subject positions presented above tend to follow quite different
strategies in expressing their politics. I will discuss these differences and their possible explanations.
Citizenship, political space and Chinese labor NGOs
Marielle Stigum Gleiss (Department of Sociology and Human Geography, UiO)
Grassroots labor NGOs have emerged in post-Mao China to serve the needs of migrant workers, as
well as protect their rights and interests. This paper analyzes the discursive struggles over citizenship
that unfold when labor NGOs speak about or on behalf of migrant workers. In particular, I examine
the political space for representing migrant workers and the strategies used by labor NGOs to
remake this space. Seeing political space as discursive and dynamic, I argue that the political space
for representing migrant workers is composed of discourses that construct migrant workers’
collective identities, their interests and ideas about Chinese society and migrant workers’ position
within this society. These existing discourses both enable and constrain the articulation of new
discourses about migrant workers. Distinguishing between different types of enabling and
constraining discourses, I discuss how labor NGOs relate to these discourses, and how they articulate
new discourses about migrant workers.
Performing citizenship under authoritarianism
Elin Sæther (Department of Sociology and Human Geography, UiO)
In China, investigative journalists constitute a small, but vocal, minority among the country’s media
workers. They bring stories about social discrimination and suffering to the public sphere, often
narrated through a particular individual’s story. This paper identifies two current perspectives of the
political impact of this public criticism. One emphasizes authoritarian resilience and views critical
exposures as a state controlled outlet of frustration. A contending perspective views critical
expressions as transformative, but stops short of explaining how criticism contributes to social and
political transformation. I explore how critical and investigative journalism can be better understood
as performances of citizenship and argue that the mediation of narratives about grievances and
suffering suggests new potential collective identities enabling a politics of recognition.
Comments and reflections
Geraldine Pratt (Department of Geography, University of British Columbia)
Open discussion