How has migration impacted citizenship?
The EU-funded project 'Migration and citizenship in western Europe: a history' (MICITHISEN) bridged the fields of history and the social sciences for an innovative study of citizenship and nationhood. The particular focus was on human mobility and citizenship and citizenry and covered the period from the 19th century to the 1990s. Research expanded on studies of comparative political science to date, analysing each country's historical patterns of nationhood and legal traditions. It assessed the influences of both emigration and internal migration on the politics and policies of citizenship in these countries. Adopting a much-needed historical perspective, the project considered Germany, Ireland, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. The goal was to assess how states strategically plan and organise population mobility in response to challenges posed by a globalised market. The states have highly comparable historical developments as all share long-standing traditions of consolidation and construction of national identities in relation to human mobility. Using theory to explain historical data and analyses, research was also based on primary sources from national archives and on relevant government statistics. As a result, MICITHISEN succeeded in developing the state of the art in fields related to political theory and history, international relations, citizenship and migration studies. The initiative contributed to a deeper understanding of the political cultures and legal traditions underpinning studies on citizenship in Europe. Its outcomes offer new perspectives for the development of theories on sovereignty and citizenship, nationalism and imperialism. As such, project outcomes also have implications for the EU's governance of borders, immigrant inflows, welfare systems and the labour market.
