Global Citizens
Unit 6 Global Citizens
INTRODUCTION
The concept of citizenship has both informal and formal (or legal) aspects. For
instance, a person who does good work within their community may be
recognized as a “good citizen,” but this is an informal acknowledgment that does
not affect the person’s legal status.
Some aspects of dual citizenship are accepted both informally and legally. For
instance, if you are a citizen of the United States, you are also a citizen of the
state in which you reside. Similarly, being a resident of a city or county may
entitle you to use the resources of both entities.
Other aspects of dual citizenship may be informally accepted, but not legally
sanctioned. This includes concurrently holding dual citizenships in the United
States and some other country. For example, children of U.S. citizens who are
born abroad are often, but not always, granted citizenship in their birth country
while also retaining U.S. citizenship. They are not expected to resolve the duality
until they reach adulthood.
Importantly, we must see that national citizenship is entirely a formal, legal
matter. It does not ultimately depend on factors such as where people have lived,
which groups they identify with, or how they seek to impact society. Instead, the
power to confer national citizenship is an aspect of a country’s sovereignty.
This is not true of the concept of the “global citizen.” This informal designation is
generally applied to those who choose to act on vital issues or policies that
extend beyond the borders of their country. In this sense, if a citizen of one
country travels to another to work on issues such as poverty, homelessness, or
elections, they would be deemed a global citizen. But it also important to
recognize that many of the complex, pressing problems that exist globally can be
addressed anywhere in the world, including one’s home country.
As public administrators, we need to strive to reach more effectively across
traditional boundaries. The activities in this unit will help you develop your own
perspectives in regard to national and global citizenship, and develop skills you
can use to reach worldwide goals.
OBJECTIVES
To successfully complete this learning unit, you will be expected to:
1. Evaluate the impact of citizenship in situations of public participation.
2. Analyze the impact of global citizenship in global public participation.
3. Analyze the impact of alternative concepts of citizenship, such as dual and global
citizenship, from the perspective of contemporary public values and their impact
on global public participation.
4. Use the public values that define citizenship (other than the simple fact of birth)
to identify criteria for global citizenship.
Unit 6 Study 1
Studies
Readings
Use DPA8412 Global and Diverse Societies to complete the following:
• In the Kivisto and Faist text, Citizenship: Discourse, Theory, and Transnational
Prospects, read Chapter 5, “Expansion,” pages 102–128.
Research
Complete the following research in preparation for this unit’s discussions:
• Use the Capella library, the Internet, and other resources available to you to
locate and read at least three peer-reviewed articles addressing the concept of
global citizenship. You will use these resources in the Global Citizenship
discussion later in this unit.
Optional – Readings
The following optional materials may add to your understanding of this unit:
• Read Osland’s 2003 article, “Broadening the Debate: The Pros and Cons of
Globalization,” in the Journal of Management Inquiry, volume 12, issue 2, pages
137–154.