Calling for the Super Citizen

This book offers the first empirical and holistic analysis of the design, implementation and effects of the new naturalisation regimes in the United Kingdom and Germany introduced in the 2000s. Based on a multi-sited state ethnography, it uniquely compares the law on the books, the local administration, and the lived experiences of citizenship tests, courses, and ceremonies from an interdisciplinary social science perspective.

The book argues that naturalisation procedures in both countries suggest to migrants to constantly optimise themselves in the state’s interests toward the subjectivity of the “Super Citizen” – a political, economic, and cultural asset to the liberal-democratic, capitalist nation-state. The concept of the Super Citizen enables us to highlight and criticise the overburdening expectations toward citizens by application as opposed to citizens by birth. The analysis reveals that the self-presentation of Britain and Germany as liberal and meritocratic politiesis in stark contrast to migrants’ lived experiences of the naturalisation process.

By shedding light on naturalisation policies’ efficacy, this book is aimed at students and scholars in sociology, politics, law, anthropology, and education, as well as policy-makers in the areas of citizenship and migration.

“This book proposes a bold new interpretation of naturalisation requirements and procedures. Transcending debates about the liberal character or exclusionary effects of naturalisation tests, courses and ceremonies, Badenhoop regards them as state efforts to produce “Super Citizens”, who contribute to the economy and cultural diversity, demonstrate sincere effort and show loyalty and gratitude. A must-read for scholars, policy-makers and others interested in citizenship.” (Rainer Bauböck, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Italy)

“Elisabeth Badenhoop’s book, drawing on a clear conceptual framework and a wealth of empirical data, provides important insights into the character of naturalisation processes in modern states, viewed both from the perspectives of the states themselves and those who are naturalising. The figure of the “Super Citizen” is a powerful metaphor for the ways in which states use the naturalisation processes to placeheavy demands on migrants.” (Jo Shaw, Head of School, Edinburgh Law School, UK)

“The myriad expectations placed on immigrants are enormous if not daunting. Naturalisation and citizenship are offered to them as a kind of reward or endgame only after the successful completion of an obstacle course of rules, procedures, and state bureaucracies. Through multi-sited research and multiple perspectives, Badenhoop takes an indepth look at the regulations and experiences of naturalisation in Germany and the UK. It is a powerful and revealing, indeed breakthrough study that will shape citizenship research for years to come.” (Steven Vertovec, Director, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Germany)

“This book proposes a bold new interpretation of naturalisation requirements and procedures. Transcending debates about the liberal character or exclusionary effects of naturalisation tests, courses and ceremonies, Badenhoop regards them as state efforts to produce “Super Citizens”, who contribute to the economy and cultural diversity, demonstrate sincere effort and show loyalty and gratitude. A meticulous comparative analysis of naturalisation practices in the UK and Germany reveals how such policies reinforce hierarchies between native-born and naturalised citizens and non-national migrants. A must-read for scholars, policy-makers and others interested in citizenship.” (Rainer Bauböck, European University Institute, Italy)

Elisabeth Badenhoop is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Wuppertal. She is the guest editor of ‘Citizenship Matters: Assessing the History, Regulation and Lived Experiences of Naturalization from a Global Perspective’ (Citizenship Studies, 2021). Her research has been published in leading journals, including Governance, Regulation & Governance, and Comparative Political Studies, and has been cited by the UK House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee. She holds a PhD from the University of Glasgow and was Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Göttingen, and the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg.