Medborgarskapets symboliska betydelse

The contrasting perspectives of citizenship, as either participating in the national community through a common language or common values, contra the juridical meaning of citizenship as an upholding of ones rights and obligations towards the state, has in the last years gained strong foothold in the Swedish debate. This has led to an incertitude in how to interpret the term, and has made communitarian perspectives on citizenship that emphasize “organic” values grow stronger and seem all the more natural. The advocates for these ideas often tend to uphold the family, nation, tradition and religion as values that binds citizens within a nation together, and holds an rather uncritical view of ones own national culture. This essay seeks to critically examine the “new” ideas on an updated status for the Swedish citizenship which can be found in the motions handed in to the Swedish Riksdag