Citizenship as Political Tool: The Recent Turmoil in the MENA and the Creation and Resolution of Statelessness

Abstract

Citizenship has commonly been used as a political weapon, and sometimes a direct and devastating consequence of this is rendering individuals, groups or even entire populations stateless. This article, by considering the concept of citizenship through a legal standing -- where citizenship is the legal bond an individual holds with a state -- reflects upon the exclusion of persons from the entire nation-state system, when citizenship is wielded as a political weapon. More specifically we look at both the creation and resolution of stateless cases through the manipulation by states of its ‘citizenry’ during the recent turmoil in the Middle East. From these examples a key commonality can be drawn out, the exclusion/inclusion of those based on a perceived lack/sufficient loyalty to the nation-state.

Keywords: Statelessness, Citizenship, Middle East, Denationalization