The Great Famine reduced the population of Ireland from over 8 million in 1840 to under 6 million in 1850. Steady emigration kept reducing the population for almost a century afterwards, dropping it to almost 4 million by 1950. In 1956, to combat this drastic depopulation of Ireland, the Irish Parliament passed the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act that changed the laws that regulate citizenship in Ireland to allow foreigners whose grandparents were Irish citizens to claim Irish citizenship; a kind of citizenship called citizenship by descent. While Ireland could have opened their borders by making naturalization (the process of letting a foreigner achieve citizenship) easier, by easing their laws concerning citizenship by descent they chose a path that maintained a strong relationship between Irish ethnicity and Irish citizenship.
Every country has its own rules about who it considers as having the natural right to be a citizen. These rules/laws can tell us a lot of about the cultural values of that country, and about the relationship of ethnicity and nationality/citizenship. In this assignment you will learn about the categories of entitled citizenship: jus soli, jus sanguinis and citizenship by descent. You will do some research to find out the citizenship laws of your country (or a country of your choice), and you will write about what you think these laws about citizenship say about the relationship between nationality and ethnicity in your country?
(note: in this assignment, we are not talking about the process of naturalization, or applying to a country to become a citizen. We are only focusing on who gets to automatically be a citizen due to their blood or the place of their birth).
Kinds of entitled citizenship:
– Jus sanguinis = citizenship by blood. If your parents were citizens (sometimes one, sometimes both) the child is also a citizen.
– Jus soli = citizenship by place of birth. If you are born within the territory of a nation, you have a right to that citizenship. Also called birthright citizenship
– Citizenship by descent = If your grandparent was a citizen you have a right to claim citizenship even if your parents were not citizens.
*TRIGGER WARNING* – This assignment asks you to share personal information that may be sensitive for some. Please only share what you feel comfortable sharing.
Do some google research to figure out what your country’s laws are concerning jus soli, jus sanguinis, and citizenship by descent. A search for ( insert country ) citizenship law" would be a good place to start. This information will be available for every country online, often through wikipedia. Remember to include your sources (websites) in your in-text citations and references.
Question 1: This paragraph will focus on the relationship of ethnicity to citizenship in your country. In one paragraph (200-300 words) answer the following questions:
How does your country define citizenship? (use the terms jus soli, jus sanguinis and citizenship by descent)
How would you describe the diversity of ethnicity present in your country? From what you’ve learned of the citizenship laws in your country, do you think your country’s citizenship laws increase or decrease multiculturalism (Guest 168)?
Question 2: In one paragraph (200-300 words) discuss whether or not your ethnicity matches that of the founders of the nation-state of which you are a citizen, and of the nation where you reside (if they are different). How, if at all, does this impact your personal sense of belonging (i.e., nationalism) in relation to these nation-states? How does it affect the ways other people regard your citizenship? Do they generally assume that you are a citizen? Do they question if, or challenge that, you are a citizen?
Remember to use ideas and concepts from the book whenever possible. You must use at least one concept from the book (with references) to receive full credit.
The post How does your country define citizenship? (use the terms jus soli, jus sanguinis and citizenship by descent) How would you describe the diversity of ethnicity present in your country? From what you’ve learned of the citizenship laws in your country, do you think your country’s citizenship laws increase or decrease multiculturalism (Guest 168)? .
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Purpose The Great Famine reduced the population of Ireland from over 8 million in 1840 to under 6 million in 1850. Steady emigration kept reducing…