Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- 2 A democratic challenge
- 3 Fair to whom?
- 4 Safeguarding liberal democracy from itself
- 5 Inclusion without consent
- 6 Keeping nationality relevant
- 7 The constitutional debate in the United States
- 8 The constitutional debate in Germany
- 9 Summary and final remarks
- Bibliography
- Index
- Index of Cases
2 - A democratic challenge
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- 2 A democratic challenge
- 3 Fair to whom?
- 4 Safeguarding liberal democracy from itself
- 5 Inclusion without consent
- 6 Keeping nationality relevant
- 7 The constitutional debate in the United States
- 8 The constitutional debate in Germany
- 9 Summary and final remarks
- Bibliography
- Index
- Index of Cases
Summary
The gradual development of the principle of equality is therefore a providential fact. It has all the chief characteristics of such a fact: it is universal, it is lasting, it constantly eludes all human interference, and all events as well as all men contribute to its progress.
A. de Tocqueville (1963: 6)The claim that I would like to advance and explore is that states claiming to be committed to liberal democracy ought to regard as full members of their organized political community, all those who reside in their territory on a permanent basis, being subject to the decisions collectively adopted there and being dependent on its protection and recognition for the full development of their personalities. Full inclusion in this sense implies their incorporation into the realm of civic equality that unites the citizenry in an equal status of rights and duties, including also a right to be allocated a share in the common public space (the right to remain indefinitely in the territory) and a right to political action (political rights and freedoms). These are rights from which permanent resident aliens have been, at least to some extent, generally excluded.
Moreover, to the extent that being a national citizen is required as a condition for inclusion in the realm of civic equality the claim is that, after a certain residence period, permanent residents ought to be automatically and unconditionally recognized as citizens of the state.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Immigration as a Democratic ChallengeCitizenship and Inclusion in Germany and the United States, pp. 20 - 41Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2000