‘CITIZENISATION’ IN FLANDERS: BETWEEN CITIZENSHIP AND RIGHTS

Dieter GrypUniversity College Ghent – Social Work and Welfare Studies

University Ghent – Philosophy and Moral Sciences

EINE-CONFERENCE, ANTWERP – DECEMBER 3, 2011

Research project

• ‘CITIZENSHIP IN THE IMMIGRATION SOCIETY’A philosophical analysis of conceptions of citizenship in integration practices (Flemish reception policy – ‘citizenisation’ (Dutch: inburgering))• University of Ghent• Funded by University College Ghent• 01/11/2009 – 31/10/2015 (50 %)• Patrick Loobuyck – Griet Verschelden

• Key question• What political-philosophical conceptions of citizenship lie at the root of

developed “integration practices” in Flanders (‘citizenisation’) and how are these views reflected in the discourse about immigration society in general?

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Research project (2)

• Combination of political philosophy (explicitation of concepts and discourses) and social work (analysis of ‘actions’ within these discourses)

• Phase 1 (year 1 – 2)• Literature research (political-philosophical/sociological

literature on the concepts ‘citizenship’, ‘social integration’, ‘immigration’, …)

• Preliminary analysis of ‘citizenisation practices’ in Flanders (through decrees)

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Outline

• Motivation• Historical analysis of citizenship

• Citizenship discourse• Rights discourse

• The agonistic core• Joint approach• Moralisation

• In Dutch policy• In Belgian policy (?)

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Motivation

• Signifying concept

• Discussion (national) liberalism – communitarism• Central concept in citizenisation is an active and

shared citizenship

• ‘Peculiar and slippery concept with a long history’

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Historical analysis

‘CLASSICAL CITIZENSHIP’ ‘MODERN CITIZENSHIP’Aristotle Hobbes - LockeRepublican (communitarian) LiberalCommunity IndividualCS as practice (‘active’) CS as rights

• Two discourses (Margaret Somers):• Citizenship discourse• Rights discourse

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Citizenship discourse

• Virtues (active citizenship)• Aristotle: subject – citizen

• Intrinsic capacity and desire to participate in politics

• Roman imperialism: legal status (cf. nationality)• Revival: Italian city states

• Scarcity of (classic) republics is due to a scarcity of civic virtues

• Rousseau: ‘social contract’

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Rights discourse

• Rights• Evolution towards sovereign nations

• Imagined communities representation

• Evolution of citizenship: membership• The introduction of rights

• Hobbes (rights –state) – Locke (natural rights)• Marshall: social rights

• Idea of equality: negative and positive rights

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Agonistic core

• Liberal hegemony, but ‘every consensus exists as a temporary result (…) and it always entails some form of exclusion’

• View: citizenship has an agonistic core• 1990’s: renewed interest in citizenship discourse

• Two currents: • Rights (multiculturalism, rights and duties)• Citizenship (quality and attitude citizens)

• Kymlicka/Norman: joint approach

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Joint approach?

• Growing aknowledgment: differentiated rights are necessary (f.e. liberal negligence)• Question has changed:

• specific minority rights in specific contexts

• Justification: do they undermine civic virtues?• Main difficulty: how to promote civic virtues?

• ‘Society would be better if the people where nicer and more thoughtfull’

• How to moralise?

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The moralisation of citizenship

• Agonistic core = moralisation in both discourses• Citizenship discourse is more moral (hence almost

automatically ‘moralisation’• Rights discourse: contractualisation

• Formal (defined – state) and moral (discursive – society) citizenship (Schinkel)• Dutch citizenisation (integration = citizenship) – culturist

fase• Diffuse hybrid between the state’s force and the government

ideology on civic behaviour

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The Dutch policy

• Inspiration for the Belgian (Flemish) policy• Formal citizenship leads to moral citizenship• Moralisation initiates a dual process

• First moral than formal• Formal but lack of moral

• First-class citizens and second-class citizens

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The Belgian Context

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BELGIUM

Federal Government

3 Regions‘space bounded matters’

3 Communities‘person bounded matters’

Division of tasks

• MIGRATION AND INTEGRATION POLICIES:• Federal level:

• immigration, anti-discrimination and the nationality law

• Communities, regions and cities: • integration policy

• MINISTERS:• The Belgian government:

• minister of migration (since 2008)

• Flemish government: • minister of civic integration (since 2004)

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Decrees

• The Flemish Minority Policy (1989)• Inspired by Anglo-Saxon and (former) Dutch multicultural model

= categorical vision• 1998: ‘minority decree’, updated in 2009

= inclusive vision• ‘Living together in a diversified society is every citizen’s responsibility’ • Three levels:

• an emancipation policy for target groups• a social policy on the domains of welfare, health care and

education• a reception policy for newcomers

= formalised with the citizenisation decree in 2003.

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Citizenisation trajectories

• February 2003• Two main parts:

• Primary trajectory:• acquiring Dutch as a second language

(Nederlands als tweede taal - NT2)• orientation in the Flemish/Belgian society

(Maatschappelijke Oriëntering - MO)• orientation in the labour market

(Loopbaanoriëntatie - LO). • Secondary trajectory: regular social services

• Compulsory for priority groups (larger than target group i.e. ‘newcomers’ and ‘oldtimers’)

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Moralisation in citizenisation (?)

• Division of tasks• No formal incentive, ‘forced’ emphasis on moral

citizenship

• In political discussion the line between moral and formal citizenship blurs (transgressed discursively)• Mandatory (or losing social insurance)

• Risk: moralisation can cause a shift from structural to individual, group or cultural problems• Strategic mechanism

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Thank you.

Dieter Grypdieter.gryp@hogent.be

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