Roundtable with
Rainer Bauböck | Commission for Migration and Integration Research,
Austrian Academy of Sciences, EUI

Commentators
Helmut Aust | Department of Law, Free University Berlin
Ines Michalowski | Migration, Integration, Transnationalization, WZB
Daniel Thym | Department of Law, Konstanz University

Chair
Ashley Mantha-Hollands | International Citizenship Law, WZB

The concept of citizenship originated in the city republics of ancient and early modern Europe. Today, the determination of citizenship has become a monopoly of states. However, in democratic states faced with increasing mobility and diversity, cities have reclaimed citizenship for themselves in various ways, e.g. by extending voting rights in local elections to non-citizens, by issuing identity cards to all residents, by experimenting with democratic innovations such as participatory budgeting and citizen councils, or by providing “sanctuary” to undocumented migrants. This talk will explore the potential and limitations of new manifestations of urban citizenship in Western democratic states.