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(Re)Articulations of Citizenship

Author(s): Aihwa OngSource: PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 38, No. 4 (Oct., 2005), pp. 697-699Published by: American Political Science AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30044353 .

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(Re)Articulationsf CitizenshipThe confluences f globalflows,by formingnewspacesandentanglementsf possibili-ties,havea mutatingffect oncitizenship.Inanever-shiftingandscape onfigured ymobilitiesandpositionalities,he idea of citizenshipiedto the terrain nd maginationf anation-state(Anderson1983] 1991) s called ntoquestion.Intheory, itizenship sprotected ntitlementsdependsonmembershipn anation-state. utincreasinglynpractice, ntitlements ndben-efitsarerealized hrough pecificmobilizationsandclaims n milieusof globalized ontingency.Themovements f globalmarkets,echnologies,andpopulationsnteract o shapenovelspacesof politicalmobilization ndclaims.As rightsandprotectionsongassociatedwithcitizenshiparebecomingdisarticulatedrom hestate, heyarere-articulated ithelements uch asmarket-based nterests,ransnationalgencies,mobileelites,andmarginialized opulations.

Given his scenario f shifting"globalas-semblages" OngandCollier2005),emergentspacesandcombinationsf disparatelementsaredestabilizing itizenship sa territorializedbundleof protected ntitlements.New modesof governingmake inerdistinctionsnrelationto nationalerritorynd he residential opula-tion.Participationntransnationaletworks ndglobalnodes hasengen-dereda checkerboardby patterningf thenationalAihwa Ong, terrain,huseffectinggraduatedrvariegatedUniversity f California,Berkeley sovereigntyOng 000).Some sites andzonesare nvestedwith morepoliticalresourceshanothers.At the same ime,rightsandentitlements nceassociatedwith allcitizensarebecoming inked o neoliberal rite-ria,so thatsome entitlementsmaybe withdrawnfrom some citizensandgivento non-citizens.Furthermore,he differencebetweenhavingandnothavingcitizenships becomingblurred sthe territorializationf entitlementss increas-ingly challengedby deterritorializedlaimsbeyond he state.Analytically,we candistinguish etween woprocesses hatunderliemutationsn citizen-ship.On the onehand, here s theemergenceof newpoliticalspaces,andon theother, hedisentanglementf citizenship omponents.The confluence f citizenship egimes,neolib-eralcriteria, ndmobilepopulationsonstitutemilieusof possibilities orpoliticalmobiliza-tion. Thesespacesarenot definedor delimitedby theterritorialityf the nation-state.Migra-torymarketnterests,echnologies, ndNGOsbecomearticulated ithcitizenship rders,husshapingnovelspacesof politicalmobilization.New spaces nclude hecity,thepublicsquare,therefugeecamp,regionalabormarkets, rcyber-space.These are sitesforthe articulation

of newclaimsfor resourcesromstateaswell asnon-state nstitutions.Meanwhile, heelementsassociatedwithcitizenshiparebecomingdisarticulatedromeach otherandre-articulated ith mobile

technologiesandactors.We have raveled arfromthe idea of citizenship sa legalstatus na nation-state,ndas acondition pposed otheconditionof statelessnessArendt 1958] 1998).Binaryoppositions etweencitizenship ndstatelessness,betweennationalerritorialityndits absence,are not useful orthinking bout henewconfigurationsf spacesandnew combi-nationof factors hataffectpoliticalmobiliza-tions andclaims.Rightsandentitlementsnceassociatedwith citizensarebecomingdispersedamongpopulationswhocan ncludenon-citizens.Furthermore,hedifference etweenhavingandnothavingcitizenships becomingblurred s the territorializationf entitlementssincreasinglymade n spacesbeyond he state.Weused to thinkof different imensionsof citizenship-rights, politicalenfranchise-ment, erritoriality,state,etc.-as moreorless going together.Now,increasingly,omeof thesecomponents reseparatingromeachother.Somepopulations et to claimtheoriginalbundleof rights,while othersenjoy onlylimitedprotections.At the same ime,citizenship le-mentsbecomeassociatedwith market riteria,administrativeolicies,andhumanitariannter-ventions.Diversepopulations-dispossessedcitizens,migrantworkers, xpatriates-voiceclaims n termsof neoliberal aluesor hu-manitarianights,asthecasemaybe.Thus, he(re)combinationsf globalizingorces andsitu-atedelementsproduce onditions f possibilityforarticulatingoliticalclaimsongrounds therthan egal citizenship.Theconfluence f processesof territorializa-tionanddeterritorializations re-configuringconnectionsbetweenpolitical pace,entitle-ments,andpoliticalaction. make hefollow-ingclaims.First, hespaceof theassemblage,rather han heterritory f thenation-state,s thesite for newpoliticalmobilizations ndclaims.Second, n zones of hypergrowth,eoliberal ri-teriaof knowledgeandself-enterpriseecomecitizenshipdeals thatchallenge helegallimitsof citizenship.Third,newpolitical pacesarefastbecoming ites for articulation f claimson resources romvarious ourcesbeyond hestate.Fourth, ssemblages re sites on theedgeof emergence, o resolutions oproblems fcontemporaryivingcannotbedeterminednadvance,butunfoldwithin hespaceof the as-semblage.Inwhat ollows,I contrast hedisarticulationandre-articulationf citizenship lements ntwoglobalizedmilieus,ascitizenship le-mentsarebecomingarticulated ithemergent"regimes f living" CollierandLakoff2005).

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Inhypergrowthones,interactions etweencitizenshipnormsandneoliberal aluesplaceapremium nself-enterprisingctors,regardless f citizenship tatus.Meanwhile, therpoliticalspacesshapedby market ndpoliticalstrategiesan becomesites for thearticulation f specificproblems f collective ife.

Zones of HypergrowthThe acceleratedlows of populations ndcapitalhave focused

attention n howcitizenships affectedby the claimsof border-crossingeconomicactors.Suchtransnationalracticesdenote hesusceptibility f citizenshipo the exerciseof marketreedoms,as those withentrepreneurialapacities annegotiatehelimitsofimmigration."Flexible itizenship" escribesmaneuverswhereby ubjectsare nduced o respond luidlyandopportunisticallyo dynamicmarket onditions egardless f nationalborders. n anageofflexibleaccumulation,flexibility,migration, ndrelocations,insteadof beingcoercedorresisted,havebecomepracticesostrive or rather hanstability" Ong1999,19).Furthermore,a-tion-states eekingwealth-bearingndentrepreneurialmmigrantsdo not hesitate o adjustmmigrationaws to favorelitemigrantsubjects, speciallyprofessionals nd nvestors. nadvancedcapitalist ites,the articulationf market-basedriteria ndciti-zenshipnormsencourages lite actors o exploit hepossibilityofcapitalaccumulationhroughhe astutedeployment f multiplepassports.In advanced iberaldemocracies, oliciestowarddomesticpopulations ave alsobecomemarket-based.thasbeen claimedthatcitizensaregenerallygovernednotthrough ppressive on-trollingmechanisms, ut"throughreedom,"r aninducementorformally reesubjects o makecalculative hoices on theirownbehalf Rose 1999).Governments nolonger nterestedn takingcareof everycitizen,but wantshim/her o act as a freesubjectwho self-actualizes ndrelies on autonomous ction o confrontglobalizednsecurities.There s thus a fundamentalhange ntheethicsof subject ormation, r the ethicsof citizenship, s govern-ingshifts ts target rom he social andcollectivemanagementfthepopulationbiopolitics)o a focus on individual elf-govern-ing (ethico-politics). uchethics areframedas an animation fvarious apacitiesof individualreedom, xpressedboth n free-dom fromstateprotection ndguidance,and n freedom o makecalculated hoices as a freeself-maximizingndividual.IntheUnitedStates,human echnologieshatgovern hroughthe freedomoraspirationsf subjects specially arget he urbanpoor, mmigrants,ndrefugeeswho areviewed as less capableofself-improvementOng2003).This shifttoward neoliberal ech-nologyof governingholdsthat hesecurityof citizens, heirwell-beingandqualityof life, are ncreasingly ependent n theirowncapacities s free individuals o confront lobalizednsecuritiesby making alculations nd nvestmentsn their ives. Thesemar-ket-driven aluesare derived romFrederic onHayek's heoryof the homoeconomicus s aninstrumentalistigure orged n theeffervescent onditionsof market ompetition.Thetheoryof in-dividual conomicagencyas the most efficient orm or distribut-ing publicresourceswas embraced nder he "neo-conservative"policiesof Thatcherism ndReaganomics. ronically, s neolib-eralvaluesof flexibility,mobility,andentrepreneurialismecomecitizenshipdeals,theyunderminehe democratic chievementsof American iberalism asedon ideals of equalrights.Neoliberal deas andpractices rediffused o various nviron-mentsof hyper-growth.n Asiancities,citizensareurged obeself-enterprising,otonlyto copewith uncertaintiesndrisks,butalsoto raise he overall"human uality" f theirsocieties.Thus, nEast andSouthAsia,neoliberal thics of self-responsiblecitizenship re inked o socialobligationso build henation.

InIndiaandMalaysia,discourses bout"knowledgeworkers"and"knowledgeociety"urgecitizens o self-improven orderto develophigh-techndustries.nSingapore,he accumulationof intellectual apitalasanobligation f citizenships extreme.Ordinaryitizensareexpected o developnewmindsetsandbuilddigitalcapabilities,whileprofessionals reurged o achievenormsof "techno-preneurialitizenship" r lose outto moreskilledandentrepreneurialxpatriatesndbe reduced o a sec-ond-classcitizenry Ong2005).Inshort,neoliberal aluesof self-managementndself-en-terprise ave differentmplicationsorcitizenship,dependingon interactionswithparticular oliticalenvironments.While thetendencyn England nd he U.S. is to focus on theself-govern-ing and echnologically avvycitizen as anindividual artici-pant n civil society, n Asiangrowth ones,the discourse f theknowledgeablendentrepreneurialitizen s tiedto contributionsto "civicsociety," rto solidarity sa national ommunity. hecommon eature s thatacross hese diversemilieus, he stakesofcitizenship reraised or themajority. specially nhypercapital-ist zones,those who cannot cale theskillsladderormeasureupto the normsof self-governingre ncreasinglymarginalizedsdeviantorevenriskysubjectswhothreatenhenewlynormal-izedregime.Thespread f neoliberal riteria sanexpression findividualreedom ystematically ndercutsuridicalprinciples

of citizenshiphatpromiseuniversal ights o all.Zones of Exclusion

The interactions etweenmarkets ndadministrativeecisionshave creatednotonlysites of hypergrowth,ut also zonesforthepolitically xcluded.As such,politicalclaimsby the disenfran-chised are ncreasinglyocusednot onlegal rights,butontherightas humanbeingstobiologicalsurvival.nthepost-Cher-nobylera,health-based laimshavebecomeanimportant artof citizenship ights n the West.Chernobylufferers laimedbiomedical esources ndsocialequity hatcan be conceptualizedas a kindof "biological itizenship"Petryna 002).InFrance,bodilyhealth s gainingvoice asa legitimate laimforasylum.DidierFassinargues hat hesuffering odyof the HIV-infectedmigrant eversespublicperception f hisbiopolitical thernessrooted nrace andalien status. ncreasingly,omeformof legalrecognitions awardednthenameof humanity,.e., theright oa healthybody,regardless f thecitizenship f thepatient Didier2001).This s anemerging ssemblagehat inks llegal migrants,rights o healthandcitizenship.Butquestions f sheersurvivalmore undamentallypply otheever-increasing opulations f thegloballyexcluded.Dis-coursesof human ightsandof globalnormsof actualized uman-ity seemincapable f reachingmillionsof thepoliticallyweak nAfrica,LatinAmerica,andAsia. Wherepeoplecan be includedonlyas bare ife, the rhetoric f ethicalglobalization peratesat too vasta scaleto deal withspecific,situated, ndpracticalproblems f abused,naked,andflawedbodies.Inmanycases,we are alkingaboutpopulationswithout ights-disenfranchisedsubjects, efugees,andmigrants-in a varietyof situationswheretheyhave ittle or no claimstoprotection, nd or whom the mostminimal laimsof theright o survival rebeingposedfor thefirst ime. Thesepopulations reexcluded romenvironments frightsbecause heyarehidden romview,orthey ive in "failedstates," r asmigrants heyarestripped f citizenship ightsonceonthe move.In suchsituations, new constellation f elementsdefines hespaceforarticulatingndmaking laimsabout ivingconditions.Theexplosivegrowthof NGOs ndexes heemergence f alterna-tivepoliticalauthoritieshatadjudicate mongclaimsof bare ife.In the non-state dministrationf excludedhumanity, roupsand

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individuals re sortedntovarious ategoriesnrelationopar-ticularneeds,prioritizednterests, ndpotential ffiliationswithpowers-that-be.or nstance, heHIVepidemic n theIvoryCoasthasbrought ogetherpatients,healthNGOs,anddrugcompaniesin clinic-centered etworks.Patients ormspecialsocio-politi-calgroupsn order o makeparticularlaimson the stateandoncorporations.heinterrelationsmong hesedisparatelementsshapeconditionsorwhatVinh-kimNguyencalls"therapeuticcitizenship"2005).Such"counter-politicsf sheer ife"is aformof situatedmobilizationhat nvolvesethicalclaimsto resourcesarticulatedn termsof needs as livingbeings(CollierandLakoff2005).Onemilieuof thepoliticsof sheer ife involves oreigndomesticmaidsand heiraffluent mployersn SoutheastAsia.Throughoutheregion,a vastfemalemigrant opulation-work-ingasmaids, actoryworkers, rprostitutes-is regularlyexposed o slave-like onditions.NGOsseeking o improvehelivingconditions f foreignmaids nvokenotmigrant ightsbutsomethingmoreminimalandattainable,heirbiologicalsurvival.NGOs nvoke heethicsof reciprocity ratleastrecognition feconomicsymbiosisbetweenmigrantworkers nd heaffluenthouseholds hatdependonforeignnannies o sustainahighstan-dardof living.Wherecitizenshipdoesnotprovideprotectionorthemigrantworker,hejoiningof ahealthybodyanddependencyonforeignmaidsproduces claim of "bio-welfare."y mappingthemigrants' laimsonto thespaceof regionalaborcirculations,NGOs arearticulatinghe moral tatus, f not the human ights,ofmigrantworkers shumanbeings.

A binarymodel hatopposes erritorializeditizenshipo deter-ritorialized tatelessness annotcaptureheemergent oliticalconditionsproduced y particularrticulationsf citizenshipelements,marketorces,andpolitics.Multiple ssemblages fdisparatelementscreatenovelpolitical paces n whichques-tions of livingareproblematizedndresolved oday. n zonesofhyper-capitalism,eoliberal aluesarticulatedealsof belongingby making alentsandself-enterprisedealsof citizenship.Thosewho areassessed o be underperformingnd herefore securityrisk are reated s second-class itizens.Ironically,helinkingupwithglobalmarkets lso creates pacesfor thepoliticallyexcluded o mobilizeand articulatepecificclaims n termsofproblems f collective ate.Inparticular lobalassemblages,ntitiesbeyond he statesuchascorporations,eligions,andNGOsarebecomingmoreactivepractitionersf humanity.Diverseandcontradictorytandardsfhumanworthiness reatplayin these constellations.We donotneed to agreewithparticularchemesof human ategorizationorecognize hatglobalizing riteria re ncreasinglymbroiledndefiningandrecasting otionsof politicalbelonging, ntitlements,andrights, .e., elements ongassociatedwithcitizenship.Specificproblems f citizenship ndof livingareposedandresolvedthroughhesituated rticulations f heterogeneousdeas, nstitu-tions,andnetworks.The dis-articulationndre-articulationfcitizenship lementsmean hatpoliticalresolutions recontin-gent,varied,andambiguous.We aremovingbeyond herecentpastwhencitizenship s apackageof territorializedightsseemedimmutable o the flux andconjuncturesf globalflows.

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ReferencesAnderson,enedict.1983]1991. magined ommunities,ndedition.Lon-don:Verso.Arendt,Hannah.1958]1998.TheHumanCondition,ndedition.With nIn-troductionyMargaretanovaan.hicago: niversityfChicago ress.Collier, tephen.,andAndrew akoff. 005."Regimesf Living."nGlobalAssemblages: Technology, olitics,and Ethicsas AnthropologicalProb-lems, ds.AihwaOngandStephen. Collier.Malden,MA:Blackwell,22-39.Fassin,Didier. 001."TheBiopolitics fOtherness."nthropologyoday 7(February):-23.Nguyen,Vinh-kim.005."Antiretrovirallobalism, iopolitics,ndThera-peuticCitizenship."n GlobalAssemblages:Technology, olitics,and Eth-ics asAnthropologicalroblems,ds.AihwaOngandStephen. Collier.Malden,MA:Blackwell, 24-144.Ong, Aihwa. 1999. Flexible Citizenship:TheCulturalLogicsof Transnation-

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