Political citizenship in Britain and Germany

Abstract

A return to the theoretical wots of the concept of political citizenship justifies extending our attention to institutions outside the strictly political sphere. Social institutions in countries with corporatist histories, like Germany, remain important not only to the attainment of social citizenship but also to the exercise of political voice. Because the means of voice in Germany and Britain, or political citizenship, are the products of unique historical trajectories, the challenge of European integration is conceptually distinct for each. Thus, path dependent processes of democratisation may affect not just the likelihood but the normative significance of future choices.