Working Paper
This paper provides systematic empirical evidence for the widespread idea that citizenship regimes in Western democracies have converged on a configuration combining facilitated access with tighter integration conditions.
Abstract
What characterizes contemporary citizenship regimes in Western democracies? Based on the extant literature, I argue that whereas many states historically relied on lengthy residence requirements and foreign nationality renunciation obligations as proxies for integration, contemporary democratic citizenship regimes have increasingly come to combine facilitated access with demanding integration conditions. Drawing on data from 23 Western democracies between 1980 and 2019, the empirical analysis confirms that this conditionally inclusive citizenship regime configuration has become remarkably prevalent in recent years. Moreover, regression and event history models reveal a positive correlation between greater accessibility and the adoption of more demanding integration conditions. Therefore, as the residence and renunciation conditions have been relaxed, the criteria that applicants must satisfy to demonstrate their suitability for membership have been tightened. The strong convergence of citizenship regimes towards this configuration suggests that it is central for Western democracies in their quest to achieve an equilibrium in immigration politics.
What characterizes contemporary citizenship regimes in Western democracies? Based on the extant literature, I argue that whereas many states historically relied on lengthy residence requirements and foreign nationality renunciation obligations as proxies for integration, contemporary democratic citizenship regimes have increasingly come to combine facilitated access with demanding integration conditions. Drawing on data from 23 Western democracies between 1980 and 2019, the empirical analysis confirms that this conditionally inclusive citizenship regime configuration has become remarkably prevalent in recent years. Moreover, regression and event history models reveal a positive correlation between greater accessibility and the adoption of more demanding integration conditions. Therefore, as the residence and renunciation conditions have been relaxed, the criteria that applicants must satisfy to demonstrate their suitability for membership have been tightened. The strong convergence of citizenship regimes towards this configuration suggests that it is central for Western democracies in their quest to achieve an equilibrium in immigration politics.