Is Citizenship the Answer? Constructions of belonging and exclusion for the stateless Rohingya of

IMI does not have an institutional view and does not aim to present one. The views expressed in this document are those of its independent author. The IMI Working Papers Series This working paper has been developed from the author's Masters Dissertation. Students in the MSc in Migration Studies at the University of Oxford receiving a distinction for their thesis are invited to publish a modified version as an IMI and COMPAS joint working paper. The Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority group in Arakan State, Burma, are among the most vulnerable and persecuted populations across the globe. Despite their significant historical presence in the country, the Government of Burma does not recognise the Rohingya as citizens, thus rendering the population stateless. Many observers argue that the root cause of the crisis is the group’s denial of legal status, suggesting that granting them citizenship would offer a lasting solution. While the possession of legal status is fundamental to an inclusive notion of citizenship, consideration of other non-formal dimensions of citizenship are just as necessary in expanding the boundaries of inclusion. Drawing on the case of the Rohingya, I will conduct a genealogy of exclusion to illustrate that their status is not merely a product of lacking citizenship, but rather embedded in more elaborate processes of nation building