Working Paper
This paper provides systematic empirical evidence for the widespread assumption 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 increasingly combine facilitated access with demanding formal integration conditions. Drawing on data from 23 Western democracies between 1980 and 2019, the empirical analysis confirms that this conditionally inclusive citizenship regime has become prevalent. Regression models show that citizenship regimes that become accessible in terms of low residence requirements and multiple citizenship toleration also tend to become strongly integration-demanding and vice-versa. Additional models show that the varying approximation to the conditionally inclusive citizenship regime ideal-type over time cannot be predicted by multiple explanatory variables. Only Nordic countries display a generally lower score. This suggests that the strong convergence towards this regime may reflect a democratic equilibrium that remains largely unaffected by other factors.
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 increasingly combine facilitated access with demanding formal integration conditions. Drawing on data from 23 Western democracies between 1980 and 2019, the empirical analysis confirms that this conditionally inclusive citizenship regime has become prevalent. Regression models show that citizenship regimes that become accessible in terms of low residence requirements and multiple citizenship toleration also tend to become strongly integration-demanding and vice-versa. Additional models show that the varying approximation to the conditionally inclusive citizenship regime ideal-type over time cannot be predicted by multiple explanatory variables. Only Nordic countries display a generally lower score. This suggests that the strong convergence towards this regime may reflect a democratic equilibrium that remains largely unaffected by other factors.