Ideology & Citizenship
UNIT 4
What is your citizenship?
HOW DID YOU COME TO THIS CONCLUSION?
WHAT FACTORS SHAPED THIS ANSWER?
Worldviews & ideologies
 Statements about citizenship, whether in historical
or contemporary official government documents
provide an opportunity to analyze the range of beliefs
about what it means to be a citizen in a particular
place and time.
 Read the sources starting on p 442 – 444, and
discuss the understanding of citizenship in each of
the 4 sources.
 You have 15minutes to complete this task!
 How does one be a “good citizen”?
What is
Citizenship?
Citizenship: all the
rights,
responsibilities, and
privileges of a
country’s citizen;
these can vary
widely from country
to country
 What defines the core of good
citizenship in a modern liberal
democracy?
 Questions to consider!
 Does one have to be active to be
considered a model citizen?
 Does ideology shape our idea of
citizenship?

Brainstorm what good citizenship looks
like to you in Canada.
 According to the “Taskforce on Active Citizenship”
active citizenship is defined as:

The voluntary capacity of citizens and communities working
directly together, or through elected representatives, to
exercise economic, social and political power in pursuit of
shared goals.
 “Responsible Citizen” defines responsible
citizenship as:

Being a responsible citizen covers many areas – some of
them legal obligations, some social and some moral. So of
course, because not all of them are legal obligations,
being a responsible citizen is not as easy as staying within
the law. In fact, to be a truly responsible citizen, we
sometimes must go out of our way to do things which
help our society – give a little of our time and effort for
the greater good.
 Legal obligations
 Essentially a responsible citizen stays within the boundaries of the Law.
 This requires one to have a working knowledge of the laws and to stand
up for what is right regarding the law.
 2 key principles associated:


“jus soli” (right of the soil) –citizenship/nationality determined by place of
birth
“jus sanguinis” (right of blood) – citizenship/nationality of a child is the same
as the natural parents, wherever the child is born
 Social Obligations
 Social obligations are ethical and moral choices that citizens will have to
make regarding their community. Helping others and helping to build a
strong community is the foundation of being a responsible citizen.

This could include volunteering, purchasing products/food locally, organizing
community groups, etc
 Moral Obligations
 Moral obligations require you to understand the basic values
which support your society and then acting on those
principles.

For example being aware and taking steps to help preserve and
protect the environment could be a moral obligation.
Collective & Individual Leadership
 Leadership whether it is individual leadership or
leadership of the collective (meaning government,
community organizations etc) is at its core a person
or group which influences the direction of a unit of
society in achieving it’s objectives.
 So in essence this means that part of being an active
citizen is to take initiative in your community, city,
province/state, country to help others be active,
responsible citizens. This can be done through
individual actions or through a role in an
organization.
Conclusion
 None of these terms and their definitions operate
independently. Each describe a different element
involved in being a better and more active citizen in
your community.
 Can you think of any other elements that may be
involved in being an active and responsible citizen?
Citizenship
Citizenship: all the
rights,
responsibilities, and
privileges of a
country’s citizen;
these can vary
widely from country
to country
Relate to Canada and brainstorm a quick chart.
Give examples for each column below.
Rights
Responsibilities
Privileges
1.
1.
1.
2.
2.
2.
3.
3.
3.
4.
4.
4.
Does Citizenship look the same
in different Ideologies?
WHAT ABOUT IN AN AUTHORITARIAN STATE,
REVIEW
 Review – Define/Describe an Authoritarian State.
 What is your general knowledge of what it is?
 What would you see in this type of system?
 What Examples have we discussed in class this term
that would fit this category?
 Authoritarian state: a
country with
government power
highly centralized;
citizens work to achieve
the goals of the
government; there
exists a lack of civil
liberties and freedom;
conformity and
allegiance to the state
are desirable and
achieved through
socialization; the
government is
repressive.
 Fascist (Nazi)
Germany, 1930’s-1940’s
 Fascist Italy, 1920’s-
1940’s
 Communist Soviet
Union, 1920’s – 1980’s
 Communist China,
1940’s-present
 Communist North
Korea, 1950’s-present
What did Citizenship look like in Nazi Germany?
 Consider this question and what we learned in the
previous unit - how good citizenship was achieved?
Fascist (Nazi) Germany (1932-1945)
 What was a good citizen?
 1 obedient
 2 conforming
 3 racially pure
 4 supportive of the state
 5 supportive of family and family values
 6 fit and healthy
 7 “Aryan” (discuss this one)

etc.
 How was good citizenship achieved?
 discrediting opposition (e.g., blaming Reichstag fire on





Communists, February, 1933)
purging (e.g., ‘The Night of the Long Knives’, June, 1934)
consolidating of power (e.g., The Enabling Act, March, 1933)
engaging in anti-Semetic activities (e.g., The Nuremburg
Laws, 1935, or ‘The Final Solution’, 1942)
using propaganda (creating and maintaining a positive image
of Hitler, maintaining support of state and military, etc.)
indoctrination (e.g., Hitler Youth, German Youth Movement,
National Socialist Schoolchildren’s League)