Introduction: expulsion and citizenship in the 21st century

Abstract

Deportation and denationalisation policies, which states employ to expel persons from their territory and membership respectively, have steadily increased in prominence over the last two decades. This special issue investigates these distinct but related phenomena and their relationship with, and implications for our understanding of, citizenship. In this editorial introduction, we outline the two main questions the different contributions to this special issue address. First, why has the 21st century seen a (partial) reversal of the trend of increasingly constrained denationalisation and deportation practices that occurred in the second half of the 20th century? Second, what are the normative implications of this reversal, specifically for our understanding of citizenship and belonging in our increasingly interconnected and mobile world? The individual contributions to this issue are introduced throughout, and the introduction concludes with some remarks on future research.