Citizenship in Europe in the 20th century

Citizenship rights have been the object of political struggles and legal codification in all European countries throughout 20th century. This project compares 6 European countries according to the development of citizenship rights and nationality law in 20th century history. It is the first historical study to compare citizenship regimes in countries both from Western und Eastern Europe. The project will challenge the widespread view of an essential difference between a ‘Western’ and an ‘Eastern’ European path in the development of citizenship. It will also argue against the assumption of a direct link between ideas of nationhood and specific constructions of exclusion in citizenship regimes. The project will be based on normative sources (legal texts) and historical documents (parliamentary materials, publications) on their genesis. First results will be published in 2006.