Citizenship and Free Movement

Abstract

There is a tension between a liberal ideal of free movement and democratic concerns about the integrity of citizenship. This text proposes first to break down the problem by introducing a typology of free movement regimes based on their personal and territorial scopes. Second, it argues that the tension can be partially overcome through supranational integration, toleration of multiple citizenship and international agreements on reciprocal free movement rights. Taken together, these three strategies can greatly expand free movement rights that are not in conflict with democratic 3 citizenship since they rely on an expanded conception of such citizenship. The analysis concludes, however, that even the best possible free movement regimes that can be imagined under present circumstances cannot fully overcome discriminatory features of immigrant admission policies.