Nation, State, Citizenship Essay by Master Researcher

This paper examines modern democratic societies, and discusses how liberal democratic principles are at odds with the model of citizenship held by modern nation-states. The paper shows that conflicts and disputes have arisen because universalistic claims of liberalism and democracy appear to be incompatible with the exclusionary, boundary-staking functions of citizenship laws and policies of the contemporary nation-states. Subsequently, nation-states are under siege from several directions as they struggle to reconcile universal principles of liberalism and democracy with modern political realities.