“The Paradox and

Dilemma of Citizenship”
Prepared by:
Trisha C. Herrera
IR-157
What is a Citizen?
 Citizen
A member of a particular country.
A person who has rights became of being born in
a particular country.
A person who has been given rights.
A person who lives in a particular town or city.
They have certain rights, duties, and responsibilities
that are denied or only partially extended to aliens
and other noncitizen residing a country.
What is Citizenship?
 Citizenship
- the status conferred on those who are full
members of a community.
- a tool in order to strike a balance between
entitlements and provisions, allocating and
integrative requirements of the society.
(Thomas Humphrey Marshall 1893- 1981)
What is Citizenship?
 Citizenship
- The fact or status of being a citizen of a
particular place.
- The qualities that a person is expected to
have as a responsible member of a community.
(Merriam-Webster)
- relationship between an individual and a state
to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is
entitled to its protection.
- implies the status of freedom with
accompanying responsibilities. (www.britannica.com)
What is Citizenship?
 Citizenship
- most privileged form of nationality.
- denotes various relations between an individual
and a state that do not necessarily confer political
rights but do imply other privileges, particularly
protection abroad.
- It is the term used in international law to denote
all persons whom a state is entitled to protect.
- Nationality also serves to denote the relationship
to a state of entities other than individuals;
corporations, ships, and aircraft, possess a
nationality. (www.britannica.com)
History of Citizenship
 In Greece
a) First arose in towns and city-states of ancient
Greece, where it generally applied to property,
owners but not to women, slaves, or the poorer
members of the community.
b) citizens are entitled to vote and liable to taxation
and military service.
 In Rome,
a) first used citizenship as a device to distinguish the
residents of the city.
b) Granted citizenship throughout Italy.
(www.britannica.com)
Statelessness
 The international legal definition of a stateless
person is “a person who is not considered as a
national by any State under the operation of its
law”. In simple terms, this means that a stateless
person does not have a nationality of any country.
Some people are born stateless, but others become
stateless.
 Statelessness can occur for several reasons,
including discrimination against particular ethnic or
religious groups, or on the basis of gender; the
emergence of new States and transfers of territory
between existing States; and gaps in nationality
laws. Whatever the cause, statelessness has
serious consequences for people in almost every
country and in all regions of the world. 
 Constitution according to the
1897 PH Constitution
 Citizenship is under Article IV Section 1 of the
Philippine Constitution.
1. “ Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the
time of the adoption of this Constitution;
2. Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of
the Philippines;
3. Those born before January 17,1973, of Filipino
mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon
reaching the age of majority; and
4. Those who are naturalized in accordance with
law.
Types of Filipino Citizens
1) Filipino by birth
a) Jus soli (right of soil)
- Legal principle that nationality at birth is
determined by the place of birth (e.g. the territory of
a given state)
b) Jus sanguinis (right of blood)
- Legal principle that an individual acquires
the nationality of his/her natural parent/s. The
Philippines adheres to this principle.
2) Filipino by naturalization
- the judicial act of adopting a foreigner and
clothing him with the privileges of a native-born
citizen.
- Implies the renunciation of a former nationality
and the fact of entrance into a similar relation
towards a new body politics.
 Why citizenship involves a
paradox?

 A paradox encapsulated in viewing it as the ‘right

to have rights’
 Citizenship is a right that gives us the right to
political participation in cooperation with other
fellow citizens.
 In this light, we can say that rights involves a duty
that requires us to exercise our political rights on
which all our other rights depend.

Based from the article: What is Citizenship, and Why Does it Matter? By : Richard Bellamy
 The rise of a dilemma from a
paradox

 The paradox of having to enjoy collective goods

and rights because of mass participation by the
citizens of a country, it might change the attitude of
some people by making them feel that they can
“purely rely” on others rather than exerting effort on
their own.
 The rise of a dilemma from a
paradox

 The more citizens acting this way, the less they will
trust their fellow citizens to collaborate with them.

 Collective arrangements will seem increasingly

unreliable prompting people to abandon the idea of
cooperation in citizenship for other more
‘individualistic’ ways of securing their own selfish
interest.
The “dilemma”
 The dilemma proves particularly acute if the goods in
question has the qualities associated with what is
technically known as ‘public good’, from which nobody
can be excluded from the benefits, regardless of
whether they contributed something or not.

 It gives rise to the existence of temptation for

individuals to “free-ride” on the efforts of others.
Democracy as a “public good”
 Democracy operates as a public good.
 You will gain from living in democracy whether you
vote or not, while any individual vote contributes
very little to sustaining democratic institutions.
 The shortcomings of democracy is that, the
policies and the politicians people dislike tend to
be more evident than virtues, which are diffuse,
often long terms
Voting being “irrational”
 Given the very small likelihood any one person’s
vote will make a difference to the election result, it
hardly seemed worth the effort for some people.
 Even the fear of democracy collapsing should have
little effect on this self-centered reasoning.
Example:
 American national election studies reveals that in
over the past 40 years the majority of the US
Citizens have come to feel that the government
benefits a few major interests rather than those of
everyone, Likewise, a British opinion poll of 1996
have revealed that a staggering 88% of respondents
believed Members of Parliament served interests
other than their country’s – with 56% contending they
simply served their own agenda.
CHALLENGE TO THE PURPOSE OF
CITIZENSHIP
 The change in people’s attitudes and perceptions
presents a major challenge to the practice and
purpose of citizenship.

 People will always be naturally inclined to wonder

whether they are getting value for money or
contributing more than their fair share.

 Probably, because they feel little sense of solidarity

with each other or having trust issues with others.
Benefits of having Citizenship
 The most important benefit is the right to vote in elections. In
a democracy, citizens can play a big role in shaping the
decisions a country makes. The desires and opinions of
citizens can influence elected lawmakers. Since citizens
have the right to vote, they can elect officials whose political
ideas they share. If they are unhappy with an elected official,
they can vote for someone else in the next election. Citizens
can run for political office themselves.
Benefits of being a citizen
 The right to own property here in the Philippines. In our
laws, foreigners cannot own real properties or even engage
in "nationalized" industries, for instance, mass media. But
if you are a Filipino, you can win the lotto and buy a radio
or TV station without a hassle
 The right to practice one's profession.
 The right to possess a Philippine Passport. Well, our
passport is actually not so much to boast of, but at least,
we are visa-exempt from all ASEAN countries, selected
countries in Asia, Latin America, Israel and some handful
more
 Benefits of being a citizen
 The rights and privileges of appurtenant to a Filipino Citizen.
Having at least, a nationality, a citizenship is something to be proud
of. It is hundredfold better to be a Filipino citizen, than to be a
stateless person. Our economy, education and training are most of the
time, recognized worldwide, than our African, Asian and even
European counterparts.

While many still think and contemplate to change their citizenship,

remember this: never forget that this country, we probably loathe, is
the same mother who nursed us, defended us, protected us and gave
us and identity peculiar to any other known people on earth.

We should be proud that we are Filipinos. 

 In conclusion..
Despite of being involve in a lot of issues and such, we
cannot deny the fact that it gives an individual a lot of
benefits as a citizen. It enables the nation to protect the
rights of a citizen but in return, the citizens must adhere to
the laws set by the land.

 Do you think citizenship helps in maintaining solidarity

in a nation?
Thank you �