Short-Term Scientific Mission Blog: Field Notes

Action number: CA21120

Grantee name: Dr. Marcelo Carvalho Loureiro

Details of the STSM:

Title: MissionCit: Exploring Injustice and Inequality of Citizenship at GLOBALCIT.

Start and end date: 09/09/2024 to 22/09/2024

Home Country: UK

Host Country: Italy

In September 2024, I had the opportunity to undertake a Short Term Scientific Mission (STSM) at the GLOBALCIT Observatory at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies in the European University Institute (EUI). This mission marked a central moment in advancing my research on citizenship, identity, and access to rights, particularly in colonial and postcolonial contexts. The experience allowed me to engage with leading scholars in the field, participate in enriching discussions, and delve deeper into large-scale comparative citizenship projects. I also had the chance to present my own work, receiving invaluable feedback to inform the next stages of my research and future funding applications.

Bridging Citizenship Initiatives

The main objective of my STSM was to consolidate three key areas of my research and activity:

1. From a theoretical standpoint, to sought to deepen my understanding of how postcoloniality and injustice shape citizenship experiences.

2. Exploring how current methods in citizenship studies, particularly the use of identity documents as tools for analysing inclusion and exclusion, can be effectively integrated with theory.
3. Developing large-scale research projects focused on comparing citizenship, identity, and legal status across different jurisdictions.

These three goals shaped my activities throughout the mission. They guided my research presentations, as well as the networking opportunities and discussions in which I participated. By focusing on these areas, I was able to explore future research developments and address issues of citizenship injustice from a grounded, material perspective. More importantly, I engaged in conversations that helped me envision how large-scale comparative studies on citizenship can be structured and developed. 

 As a scholar specialising in citizenship inequality, the coloniality of rights, and race, my time at the EUI was transformative. The stay exposed me to innovative approaches, both qualitative and quantitative, for analysing citizenship. It also shed light on how these methods can be combined to produce research with the potential to reshape the discipline. This STSM not only enhanced my own research trajectory but also opened up new avenues for collaboration, providing me with a broader perspective on how citizenship studies can address contemporary global challenges.

A theoretical proposition

A significant focus of my STSM at GLOBALCIT was the theoretical exploration of citizenship categories and how these shape individuals’ access to rights throughout their lives. The paper I presented, Retro-Colonising Statustheorie, on September 19th dealt with citizenship taxonomy, challenging citizenship as a binary structure based on the paradigm of insiders versus outsiders. I argued for a more nuanced understanding, recognising that while some individuals may formally hold citizenship, their lived experiences often reflect unequal and unjust conditions. This raises a critical theoretical question: Are these individuals truly citizens? This inquiry aims to capture the complexity of citizenship, especially for marginalised groups whose formal status does not guarantee equal rights or protections.

Building on this, my theoretical work during the mission sought to develop a framework that critiques the inequality embedded within citizenship narratives. The taxonomy I presented in the paper is designed to critically engage with how inequality shapes the lived experience of citizenship and how the structures of injustice endure in legal and political systems, particularly those with imperial or colonial pasts. The paper will be submitted to the Robert Schuman Centre (RSC) Working Papers and to a peer-reviewed journal following the end of the STSM.

Integrating methods of research

The integration of interdisciplinary research methods was one of the cornerstones of my STSM at GLOBALCIT, significantly enriching my understanding of citizenship and injustice. Engaging with political scientists, philosophers, economists, anthropologists, sociologists, and legal scholars at GLOBALCIT highlighted the value of an interdisciplinary approach – something often constrained by disciplinary boundaries in our own departments. The diverse expertise of the GLOBALCIT team highlighted the necessity of analysing citizenship and identity from a comprehensive and interdisciplinary standpoint, something that HIDDEN has been doing and that is of great value for research and knowledge creation.  The comments and feedback I received following the presentation of my paper on citizenship taxonomy and inequality underscored the importance of this approach, and how important initiatives like HIDDEN and GLOBALCIT are. The shared value of interdisciplinarity shared by HIDDEN and GLOBALCIT is an approach I will continue to hold in high regard in my future work.

Colonial Citizenship: a project for the future

The mission provided an invaluable opportunity to engage with the key aspects of GLOBALCIT, the world-leading research initiative in comparative citizenship research. The extensive databases maintained by GLOBALCIT, which compile information on current citizenship laws and policies across the globe, are fundamental influences on the large-scale project on comparative colonial citizenship (ColCit) I envision to submit for funding in the forthcoming years. Throughout the mission, I gained insights into the project’s inception and its evolution over time. The modular approach of GLOBALCIT, which builds upon previous initiatives like EUDOCIT and draws inspiration from V-DEM, offered essential lessons for developing the future project of ColCit. One of the fundamental takeaways from my STSM was the substantial progress made in shaping funding strategies. Engaging in discussions with GLOBALCIT members and other researchers allowed me to refine this strategy, particularly regarding how to align grant proposals with the priorities of major research funders.

Networking with scholars actively engaged in citizenship studies was another highlight of my stay. Through formal meetings, seminars, and informal gatherings, I exchanged ideas with researchers at the forefront of debates on identity, migration, and citizenship beyond Europe. These interactions proved intellectually stimulating and instrumental in refining my research agenda, identifying potential collaborations, and sharing best practices. The connections made during the mission are invaluable as I pursue future projects, particularly in the study of colonial citizenship and its contemporary implications.

A path forward

My STSM at the EUI went beyond fulfilling its initial goals; it transformed the nebulous idea of creating a project on Comparative Colonial Citizenship into a tangible reality, and it clarified the need for a critical theory for citizenship and inequality. By leveraging the strengths of GLOBALCIT and integrating insights from fellow scholars in citizenship studies, I developed a deeper understanding of how citizenship frameworks, identity, and inequality can be analysed to uncover historical and current injustices. Moreover, I gained practical knowledge on how to conduct research that is both impactful and engaging. The insights garnered from this STSM will undoubtedly guide my research for years to come, propelling the exploration of colonial citizenship into new and meaningful directions.