New Citizens, New Rights

Abstract

Traditional theories of citizenship often link membership and rights, with one defining the other. Thus, becoming a citizen entitles the new member of society to a certain set of rights-civic, political, and social-that are generally unavailable to noncitizens (Turner, 1993). has that of other democratic societies, U.S. history has been marked by the efforts of excluded groups to obtain full membership in society. While the incorporation of new citizens into the polity may temporarily stabilize the social system, it can also produce frustration if these rights are curtailed, denied, or unevenly distributed: As citizenship institutionalizes social expectations which cannot be satisfied by the state under all circumstances, citizenship entitlements fuel political dissent (Turner, 1991: 217). Rights, however, are neither arbitrary nor finite. New citizen groups bring new needs to the polity and begin to enunciate and claim new rights. In the United States, the link between membership and rights is a critical but vexing one, particularly for groups that have been excluded from full membership in society. Karst (1991) contends that minorities achieve membership in U.S. society through the struggle to claim rights as citizens. Similarly, Patricia Williams (1991: 164) argues that, for African-Americans, obtaining the rights enjoyed by white Americans is the marker of citizenship. In this sense, citizenship rights are not bestowed by the simple act of birth but must be fought for and achieved. Citizenship is an active process of claiming rights rather than the passive acquisition of an arbitrary and limited set of rights. Denying minorities full citizenship militates against their citizenship and hinders their active participation in the political system, but by struggling to