Does Citizenship Require Political Participation - Essay Example

? Citizenship Introduction A citizen refers to a member of any country or political community who qualifies to use the duties of membership. Citizenship has three dimensions, with the first dimension being legal and the second dimension being political. The final dimension is identity (Kymlicka and Norman 2000). Political participation on the other hand generally refers to taking part in the politics of a country or community. This may be in the form of opinion giving or actively taking part through campaigning for political posts or directly vying for the posts. This essay will illustrate the question: Does citizenship require political participation. Is any bona fide member of a state or community or country expected and required to participate in the politics of a state whether actively or passively? This argument has raged on for some time now. Citizenship is also a sensitive issue whose stipulations have been drafted in most country’s constitutions. For some countries, in order to become a citizen, it requires a matter of hours or minutes. To some, however, like the US and the stable western economies, acquisition of citizenship by foreigners is very tedious and extremely grueling. It also takes a longer time span for one’s documents to be analyzed and vetted. The law has further set aside rules that govern acceptance of application for citizenship in a country. The essay will try and answer the question whether Citizenship requires political participation. The paper will first exhaust the issue of citizenship. It will then further analyze the concept of political participation. In my opinion, citizenship truly requires political participation. It is, therefore, every citizen’s responsibility to ensure they take part of the political events of their place of region. Citizenship There are different approaches to the issue in different countries, but the principles of citizenship are alike. Citizenship is any form of status given to an individual either in the form of rights and privileges or in the form of duties and benefits. These forms of status are given to an individual by the state. In the US, for example, citizenship confers to a person a number of rights for example the right to living and having jobs or working in the US. The person is further accorded federal assistance and any form of government services. As a result of this, citizenship confers to an individual the right to own a US passport. This type of document identifies a person anywhere in the world as being from the country. Citizenship is a stepwise procedure. In Canada for example, about 170,000 people from many parts of the world flock to Canadian embassy offices to apply for citizenship. As a result of this, becoming a citizen of Canada requires a stepwise process so that the land can sustain the new citizens. The first process is determining whether the applicant is eligible to become a citizen. In case the individual is eligible. The individual is then allowed to apply for the citizenship. A citizenship test will then follow. This test is extremely grueling. Only persons between 18 to 54 years are allowed to take the tests, otherwise if one does not lie within the age bracket, they are not expected to prepare (Glassman 2008, p46). Just like Canada, the process of Citizenship is so grueling making many interested visitors not succeed in the exercise. Different countries have different aspects of citizenship. There are different aspects of Citizenship. Dual citizenship is an example of this aspect. In the US, for example, a citizen of the US has the freedom to be a citizen of another country. The citizen will be accorded the benefits that are specific to the country in question. However, this is not the case in most countries especially for countries of the third world (Glassman 2008, p45). There are different ways through which one can become a citizen of a country. For example, one becomes a citizen of a country automatically through birth. If one is born within the quarters of a country, he/she qualifies to be a citizen of the country. This implies that if ones parents hail from a particular country, they qualify to become citizens of the country automatically. The commonest way through which one can be a citizen of a country is through registration. It is also a requirement of all citizens of a country to register with the registrar of persons about their citizenship. In this instance, there is a set age. This is 18 years and above for most cases. It is important to note that these conditions may overlap such that one may become a citizen by both birth and registration. The other method is through naturalization. This is majorly employed by persons who want to live their country to go work in another country legally. They have to get a permit. This is temporary and is employed by sportsmen such as foreign basketball and soccer players. It is also important to note that a citizen can renounce their citizenship. This citizenship can also be restored to them. Therefore, citizenship is a dynamic phenomenon. Duties of a citizen There are many duties that a citizen is expected to offer. One of this is jury duty. This is an obligation between federal courts and citizens of the state. The law, therefore, excludes non-citizens from the payment of jury dues. However, jury duty is on the decline because most Americans view jury duty as an inconveniencing procedure. The second duty of a citizen is participation in the military. This is an obligation of every citizen when called upon by the state .In the past, the government picked strong men to be trained and participate in military missions abroad especially in the Middle East. This recently happened in the war of Vietnam. Rights of citizens All citizens of the state are accorded the freedom of living and working in the US. This also applies to permanent workers who are non-citizens. The only difference in the two is that, for the case of non-citizens, this right to live and work in the US can be taken away from them. These are subject to deportation when they have been found guilty of major offences and crimes. There are many employment and educational opportunities in the US, and therefore, many immigrants see their coming as a way to lock themselves out of poverty. Most will end up committing crime in the quest for economic gains (Narud 2002, p90). Citizens of the state also have the freedom to enter the US and leave it. Some non-citizens though have this right also but most do not. There are restrictions in their movement to the country. This controls the surge of illegal activities in the state. The most important fundamental right of a citizen is the right to vote. Voting enables any citizen to have their views and opinions about their leaders, from the grassroots level up to the presidency. The posts of political leaders have been created by the federal law to be able to serve the citizens effectively. Therefore, the citizens are expected to be the ones directly responsible for the leaders who have been chosen to public coffers. However, this does not extend to all citizens. An example is convicted felons. Even after their sentence is complete, they are not allowed to vote. No form of discrimination is also tolerated by law when it comes to voting. The federal law stipulates that no state shall bar voters based on their sex, race, and age (as long as they are over eighteen years) and former criminal records. It is interesting to note that in some nations, citizens are fined if they fail to vote. This is applicable in countries such as Australia and Belgium. In the US, however, it is not a must to vote. It is just a right that every citizen is required to utilize and choose efficient leaders. Statistics reveal that, citizens’ attendance in elections is about 50%, indicating that of the eligible voter in the country, about half of them decide not to vote ( Glassman 2008). Just like a citizen has the freedom to vote for a leader, the law also stipulates that a citizen has the right to run for a public office seat. The law indicates that any chosen members to the House of Representatives must be citizens of the US for over seven years before they decide to run for public office. Senators on the other hand are required by the law to be citizens before they decide to run for public office. For one to become the president of the US, one is required to have been born in the US and be a citizen of the state for a period of over fourteen years. However, the right to run for a public office has age limitations. In order to be president, one is expected to be at least 35 years. To be a member of the US House of Representatives, one is required to be over 25 years of age while to be a US senator, one is required to be over 30 years. Every citizen of the state is further offered substantial benefits. For example, when a US citizen travelling abroad is arrested, the citizen has the right to receive consular protection. This means that the arrested person is allowed to speak to someone from the embassy of the US. The person can then receive legal aid accordingly. This right provides resources for any citizen who has been incarcerated while abroad. Furthermore, American citizens have the right to access social services and social amenities. These social services include social security and medical care and treatment. A US citizen is also protected from any form of deportation unlike what is done to non citizens of the state. Any citizen engaging in wrong doing will be instead prosecuted by the law. US citizens further have the right to assist their relatives abroad. They can apply for visa so as to bring their family members to the US (Glassman 2008). Having looked at citizenship and its components, let us now discuss the issue of political participation so that a correlation of the two can be made. Political participation Political participation generally refers to a person’s voluntary acts done so as to influence elections or any form of public policy. This may be in the form of casting a vote to choose a leader or it may as well be an individual running for a political post in the public coffers. When the issue of political participation comes up, many issues come up. One of this is patronage. This is the form of political participation that aims at influencing policy outlines or when an individual uses the right for political participation to try and seek benefits for another individual. Conflict of interest or corruption may be another form of political participation. This is the illegal usage of the right to political participation i.e. abuse of power. Leaders in public office abuse the power accorded to them by the law by using unlawful means to enrich their economic self. The individuals may also practice cronyism and favoritism while in public office. This is, therefore, a misuse of their right (Milbrath 1992, p67). It is important to note that political participation would extend to the non-payment of taxes or tax evasion. This is punishable by the federal laws. Political strikes are also a form of political participation. These are considered so when they are violent strikes. However, peaceful demonstration would not be considered as a form of political participation. From this, it is clear that political participation is a right that is to be used by a citizen of the state. It also includes acts that shape political events. Political participation depends on interplay of factors. For one, elections affect political participation. For example, in the US voter turnout is about 50% of the total while in a country like Canada voter turnout is just over 75%. Both of these countries have accorded their citizens the right to political participation, but at the end, the Canadian citizens utilize the right more in political participation (Herba 1997, p 23). Political activities like campaigns are the other instances that cause a reduction in the political participation of a country. At the end of the political event, out of the million citizens of the state, only less than ten remain to run for public office. Illegal activities in politics are another form of political participation. These also reduce during political campaigns. What could be the reason for this reduction of political participation during political activities? The cost of political participation has contributed majorly to the decline in political activities. This is because some cases of political acts cost money. Only the wealthy will, therefore, will engage in the political activities as compared to the low class. This is the reason as to why out of a million American citizens, only one thousand will be interested to mount a political campaign. Many even lose interest on the way leaving less than hundred political aspirants. Furthermore, many political occurrences require employment of social skills and bureaucracies. They also requite prowess in the art of language and a high level of education. They are also influenced by the level of education of the political aspirant. It is, therefore, evident that as much as there is freedom to political participation, not all citizens are able to utilize the political participation to the maximum. The abilities of all citizens are not equal. Besides, different citizens have different likes and dislikes (Heater 1999, p55). Preference and choice is another factor that ho as contributed to a disparity in political participation. Human beings are different entities based on their preference and choice. While one may be enthusiastic about a political position, the other may not be interested. Other workers may not see the importance of paying taxes, and they will try their best to evade the taxes. On the other hand, some workers are noble. They know the importance of taxpaying. Some workers may resolve to violent demonstrations when they feel that their grievances are not being heard well. Others instead resolve to peaceful demonstrations as a way of having their points passed across to the authorities. It is, therefore, evident that preference and choice of the citizens contributes to varied degrees of political participation (Milbrath 1982, p59). Political activities vary in regions due to party politics. For example, in Canada, Alberta has the least voter turnout while Prince Edward Island has the highest voter turnout. This is the same in the US. Some states experience a high voter turnout than the rest because of regional disparities in party support. You will, therefore, find that a region that is fronting a candidate for the presidency will have a high voter turnout as compared to a region that does not front one. The public service has also determined the political states in the country. We find that employees vote highly as compared to the other citizens. This is because; their amount of earning depends on political decisions. They, therefore, have to act in a manner that favors their existence. The same applies to farmers of this country. The prices of farm tools, implements, devices and the price of their farm output is markedly determined by the government policies. It is also affected by management decision. The farmers are, therefore, more active than other groups of people in political participation, even if these other groups have similar income and educational levels (Milbrath 1982, p56). It is, therefore, clear that: The people’s extent of participation determines the level of participation of the whole state. However, we are all baffled by what constitutes politics. The question of what constitutes politics is extremely complex and difficult to understand. It is a question that has raged on for years. For example, we can all agree that any political act in an, organization, company or the state is a form of political participation. But is this always the case? It may not be because; peaceful demonstrations are not counted as political acts. Many can also get baffled by the activities that occur in sports and in women federations. In all these, there is political infighting and feminism. What we all wonder is, is this the right to political participation that is accorded to us by the federal law. It is, therefore, a complex phenomenon. Some may argue also that these organizations have an aspect of political participation in them. Their members have administrative posts just like the government political parties (Narud 2002, p57-58). Then there is the issue of political minority. Sometimes decisions are made without the consideration of the views of the minority. What baffles more is, are these minority people also expected to be counted as though they have taken part in political participation? Some may agree while others oppose this a great deal. This is because most people believe that the possession of power is the only sure way to grade a person’s level of political participation (Isin 1999, p77). Discussion Political participation is, therefore, a necessary requirement in all political settings. When people are involved in the political matters of the state, their political participation fosters national unity and stability. It also keeps the political systems in check and ensures that the citizens of a country are not taken for granted by the political system heads. The people will, therefore, cause development of the political system through this form. There are many forms of such participation by the people. Citizenship therefore requires political participation in my own perspective. Any country that does not involve its citizens in political participation has limited efficacy in management as compared to a nation which involves its citizens. This means that active involvement of the citizens of a state will improve the performance of a government. Furthermore, if the law has accorded the citizen a right to vote and stand for political posts, the citizen has, therefore, a right to keep the same law in check by monitoring the political leaders. Democratic theory considers citizens as rational and independent beings otherwise they would not have been granted the citizenship (Connway 1985, p34-35). The right to vote also confers to citizens the right to political participation. However, some citizens do not participate in this democracy. In the US, for example, only about 50% of the citizens take part in the voting process. This, however, does not mean that citizenship does not require political participation. Most of the citizens opt not to take part in the voting due to disillusionment with the political events. Some citizens are also ignorant about the value of their voting and the keeping check of political systems (Glassman 2002, p57). However, some form of political participation is not beneficial. As a result, some quarters have argued that citizenship does not require political participation. This is because some citizens are abusing the right for political participation to take part in cases of corruption and amassing of wealth. Some also use their political seats for cronyism and favoritism. This is true especially in third world countries where laws are not being imposed on leaders abusing power. However, in stable economies like the US, where there are heavy judicial penalties for leaders who abuse power, any leader who abuses power is prosecuted and sacked. There is, therefore, fear by the leaders to abuse power. These leaders have realized the importance of political participation. The citizens in these stable and model democracies also realize the importance of political participation. They know it is their duty to make their country better by taking part in activities that shape the political arena (Beiner 1995, p45-46). The best way to exercise political participation and democracy is through voting. Other ways of exercising democracy in the government include the listening of political speeches. Taking part in political discussions is another excellent way together with contributing in newsletters and political publications. Too much political participation may, however, lead to a drop in social cohesion and breakdown of democracy. This happens when there is no control in political participation. All in all, it is vital for citizenship to exhibit political participation. References Beiner, R, 1995, Theorizing citizenship, SUNY Press, New York Bruce S. Glassman, M. J, 2008, Citizenship. The Rosen Publishing Group, New York Conway, M. M,1985, Political participation in the United States, CQ Press, Washington, D.C Engin Fahri Isin, P. K,1999, Citizenship and identity, SAGE, New York Hanne Marthe Narud, M. N,2002, Party sovereignty and citizen control: selecting candidates for parliamentary elections in Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway, University Press of Southern Denmark. Copenhagen Heater, D. B,2004, Citizenship: the civic ideal in world history, politics and education. Manchester University Press, Manchester Heater, D. B,1999, What is citizenship? Polity Press, Cambridge Lester W. Milbrath, M. L,1982, Political participation: how and why do people get involved in politics? University Press of America, New York Sidney Verba, N. H,1997, Participation in America: political democracy and social equality, University of Chicago Press, Chicago Sidney Verba, N. H.-o,1979, Participation and Political Equality: A Seven-Nation Comparison CUP Archive, New York Read More