CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2011
| Author | Gobert, Sébastien |
|---|---|
| Title | "I am one of You": Who is "You"? The Selective Extension of Dual Citizenship Provisions in Lithuania |
| Summary | This thesis deals with the extension of dual citizenship provisions in Lithuania. After the 1989 adoption of a so-called “zero-option” citizenship law, that is the granting of citizenship to all permanent residents on the territory, further legal developments of the citizenship framework have marked a certain “re-ethn icizationȁ d; of membership, to use Joppke’s expression (2003: 442). The extension of dual citizenship provisions has addressed the considerable share of the Lithuanian ethno-nation scattered across the world. The political treatment of the question has proved confusing and inconsistent and has been at the core of a long-lasting political and legal controversy. I identify a project of “selective re-ethnicization” of membership, in the sense that successive revisions of the citizenship law have only concerned some selected categories of ethnic Lithuanians. In this thesis, I investigate the underlying reasons and implications of such a project. I focus on the initial contradiction between a 1989 inclusive law and a more selective approach in subsequent developments. I analyze the extent and the structure of the Lithuanian diaspora, the influence of some of its segments on the so-called motherland and the relationship between them. I show that a certain vision of Lithuanian nationhood and a growing anxiety vis-à-vis demographic decline are at the core of a “selective re-ethnicization” project. I stress that issues of post-communist transition, minority protection and diplomatic relations have to be taken into account when considering extending dual citizenship provisions in the specific Lithuanian case. |
| Supervisor | Szabolcs Pogonyi |
| Department | Nationalism Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2011/gobert_sebastien.pdf |
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