Globalisation, multiculturalism and individualism: the Swedish debate on dual citizenship

Since July 2001, Swedish citizenship law fully permits dual citizenship, whereas earlier legislation demanded that Swedish nationals, with some exceptions, should have only one citizenship. This paper analyses the arguments used in the debate preceding this new law. The opponents of dual citizenship usually defended a nation-state order, in which individuals should belong to one single nation-state and this belonging should be manifested in national citizenship. The proponents of dual citizenship, including the parliamentary majority, balanced the national perspective against, on the one hand, a global/international perspective and, on the other hand, an individual perspective. They frequently referred to globalisation, increasing international mobility, multiple national bonds and multiculturalism. They suggested that dual citizenship would facilitate the integration of immigrants in Sweden, whereas they moderated legal and political concerns, sometimes arguing that rights and obligations in today's society are increasingly dissociated from national citizenship. Finally, the national perspective was at times explicitly subordinated to an individual perspective, which emphasised the experiences and desires of migrants - immigrants as well as expatriate Swedes. This perspective framed dual citizenship as a matter of individual choice, and often regarded citizenship as a personal attribute to be used for the construction of self-identity and meaning.