Globalization and citizenship and nationality

This chapter begins by defining citizenship, nationality, and, globalization. The definition of citizenship in a domestic sense is linked to nationality and international law. The chapter addresses the effects of globalization on people's status and membership within their own territory, and beyond it. Citizenship is a legal, political, and social construct that has domestic and international consequences. The rise of the world citizen and the changes that have occurred in the nation state mean that citizenship and nationality will be revised concepts in the twenty-first century. The chapter looks at nationality in law and analyses how globalization is affecting its functionality as a legal and social tool. The importance of nationality arises variously in international law linked to the centrality of states to the international law machinery. The term citizenship is confined mostly to domestic legal forums, and the term nationality to the international law forum.