Citizenship as Inherited Property

Political Theory, Vol. 35, pp. 253-287, 2007

35 Pages Posted: 28 May 2008 Last revised: 11 Aug 2009

See all articles by Ayelet Shachar

Ayelet Shachar

University of Toronto - Faculty of Law; Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity

Ran Hirschl

University of Texas at Austin, School of Law

Abstract

The global distributive implications of automatically allocating political membership according to territoriality (jus soli) and parentage (jus sanguinis) principles have largely escaped critical scrutiny. This article begins to address this considerable gap. Securing membership status in a given state or region - with its specific level of wealth, degree of stability, and human rights record - is a crucial factor in the determination of life chances. However, birthright entitlements still dominate both our imagination and our laws in the allotment of political membership to a given state. In this article we explore the striking conceptual and legal similarities between intergenerational transfers of citizenship and property. The analogy between inherited citizenship and the intergenerational transfer of property allows us to use existing qualifications found in the realm of inheritance as a model for imposing restrictions on the unlimited and perpetual transmission of membership with the aim of ameliorating its most glaring opportunity inequalities.

Keywords: citizenship, property, intergenerational transfer, equality of opportunity, global justice

Suggested Citation

Shachar, Ayelet and Shachar, Ayelet and Hirschl, Ran, Citizenship as Inherited Property. Political Theory, Vol. 35, pp. 253-287, 2007, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1138003

Ayelet Shachar (Contact Author)

University of Toronto - Faculty of Law ( email )

78 and 84 Queen's Park
Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C5
Canada
416-978-1620 (Phone)
416-978-7899 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.law.utoronto.ca/faculty/shachar

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity

Hermann-Foege-Weg 11
Goettingen, 37073
Germany

Ran Hirschl

University of Texas at Austin, School of Law ( email )

727 East Dean Keeton Street
Austin, TX 78705
United States

HOME PAGE: http://law.utexas.edu/faculty/ran-hirschl/

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