The End of Citizenship?

Abstract

This is a review of Peter Spiro's new book "Beyond Citizenship: American Identity After Globalization" (Oxford Univ. Press 2008). Part I of the review challenges Professor Spiro's view that the value of American citizenship is in decline. Part II critiques his discussion of the lines drawn by citizenship law - who is or can become a citizen - and what those lines mean for the nature of citizenship in the modern age. Part III discusses the meaning of citizenship, and the basis for citizenship and immigration exclusions, in the context of contemporary thinking about citizenship and nationhood. It urges that we can best address citizenship's challenges by opening our borders broadly to people who want to become part of the American experiment.