The Rise and Fall of Citizenship: Essays on Happiness

The Rise and Fall of Citizenship brings together many of Turner’s publications on the topic of citizenship and includes three new chapters reflecting upon conceptions of citizenship today.

The collection begins with a newly written overview of the rise of social citizenship (with particular reference to the UK and the US from 1945 to the 1980s) which charts the experiences of the ‘Baby Boomers’ that benefited from the creation of welfare states, post- war reconstruction, and the commitment to full employment. The core chapters are based on previously published articles, primarily from Taylor & Francis’ Citizenship Studies journal. These chapters examine and critique various sociological and political theories of citizenship and social rights as expounded in the works of R.H. Tawney, J.M. Keynes, T.H. Marshall, Ralf Dahrendorf, Judith Shklar, Peter Townsend, Bernard Crick, and Jüergen Habermas, among others.

Later chapters bring the concept of citizenship up to date. Since the 1980s, the UK and the US have been radically altered by neoliberal economic policies involving the deindustrialization of capitalism and an emphasis on financial institutions, which have given rise to new patterns of inequality and changing labour markets. In describing where we are now, Turner argues that new forms of employment instability and uncertainty are captured by the idea of ‘the precariat’ and that citizens now experience their social world as if they were denizens. Turner also considers the impact of demographic changes and increased immigration, widely opposed by populist parties, on conceptions of citizenship. Migration and membership are also examined with reference to issues of dual citizenship, permanent residence, and ‘citizenship for cash’. The final chapter considers the ongoing relevance of the ancient law of hospitality, positing how the migrant can be considered as an asset rather than a threat.

This wide-ranging and thought-provoking collection will be of interest to scholars and students in the humanities and social sciences with a focus on citizenship and rights.