Citizenship in Retrospect

Abstract

What does Tarma’s history tell us about citizenship and its links with political violence? Citizenship comes across as an elusive, yet persistent, idea. It provided a framework for people to think about relationships with institutions of authority, above all the state. But it did not fit snugly into a single definition. Rather, it remained a concept requiring and encouraging interpretation (Taylor and Wilson 2004). The discussion has suggested the importance of two central characteristics of citizenship. The first relates to the claims, rights, and feelings of belonging citizenship engenders, whether to a town, a province, or a nation. The second is the way citizenship can act as a spur to political action, especially in reaction to negligence or repression on the part of the state.