Chapter 3 - Coping with Transnational Citizenship Challenges

Summary

Introduction: Conflicting Transnational Citizenship Formations

In January 2021, New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Ardern, in an urgent press conference, strongly blamed the Australian government for “abdicating its responsibilities” to its citizens. The controversy emerged following the Turkish authorities’ apprehension and deportation of a prisoner with dual Australian and New Zealand citizenship. Prisoners had extreme inclinations. The Turks preferred to deport the detainee to New Zealand, their birth nation. During the press briefing, Prime Minister Jacinda insisted that women belonging to Australia—a nation she said the accused not just obtained citizenship but also grew up since childhood. In contrast, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, with a strongly worded statement, declared that the protection of his country demands steadfastness. Justifying his position, the Australian prime minister highlighted policies revoking citizenship from foreign extremists (BBC News, February 2021). The New Zealand prime minister stressed the sociopolitical relevance of transnational citizenship, under which people who adopt and socialize into a particular national context and society should, in principle, belong to that society. Meanwhile, the Australian prime minister preferred legislative procedural dimensions, sanctioning actual and potential transgressors of conventional national security.

Around the same time in Copenhagen, a city councilor, Ali Hansen, a member of the progressive Danish Red Greens, complained about the existence of “white middle class” domination in the fight against racism in a country like Denmark. Though admittedly suggesting of not directly experiencing racism in person, neither within nor beyond his party, the transnational Danish politician expresses apprehension about the predicament of the “white middle class,” particularly among party leadership insisting on presumed capabilities of combating racism on their own. Specifically, Mr. Hansen accuses members of his political party of avoiding social mobility within party politics. This includes the process of not designating prominent positions for ethnic minorities, especially during pre-election candidate selection.

In preparation for potentially approaching elections, political parties in Denmark introduce party lists from which the electorate picks its favorite candidates. Certain parties maintain an open list. Thus, regardless of their numerical position, the obtained electoral votes determine accessibility to legislative seats and, thereby, power within the party, as well as within the overall political system (Pedersen, 2019).