Globalization and the Concept of Third Country Nationals in the EU
Author: Chien-yi Lu
Abstract / Chinese PDF Download
Scholarly debate on the concept of citizenship under globalization has centeredon the importance of the “citizenship status”. Some argue that the importance ofcitizenship has been diluted by the emergence of transnational human rightsdiscourse, while others note the nation state’s continual efforts to clearly define EUcitizens and non-EU citizens. This article analyzes the developing concept ofcitizenship under globalization through an examination of the differences in therights of EU citizens and of Third Country Nationals (TCNs) living in the EuropeanUnion. How does a TCN become a European citizen? How do the political andsocial rights of a TCN differ from those of an EU citizen? What are the implicationsof these differences? After answering each of these questions, the article concludesthat, surprisingly, the differences between the rights of TCNs and EU citizens mayresult in an increased acceptance of the concept of “local citizenship”, allowing forfuture disassociation of EU citizenship from the national citizenship of memberstates. Moreover, the concept of local citizenship is likely to feature prominentlyin the ongoing evolution of the new concept of citizenship in a globalized world.