How Immigration is Changing Citizenship: A Comparative View

Abstract

This article compares the impact of post-war immigration on citizenship in three Western states: the United States, Germany and Great Britain. While focusing on national variations in the immigration-citizenship relationship, this comparison suggests some general implications for the institution of citizenship in liberal states: citizenship remains indispensable for integrating immigrants; the content of citizenship may change, in deviation from nationhood traditions; and citizenship is becoming increasingly multicultural.