The Evolution of Italian Citizenship: From Ancient Greece to Modern Times, Sintesi del corso di Storia Antica

Scarica The Evolution of Italian Citizenship: From Ancient Greece to Modern Times e più Sintesi del corso in PDF di Storia Antica solo su Docsity! Genealogies of citizenship University of Ljubljana Sofia Adamo 25/03/2019 Historical excursus on Italian citizeship The origin of the concept Citizenship is a bond of belonging to a state, required and documented for the enjoyment of rights and the subjection of particular duties. Citizenship can therefore be seen as a status of the citizen, but also as a legal relationship between citizen and state. People who do not have the citizenship of a State are called foreigners, if they have the citizenship of another State, or stateless, if they have no citizenship. The origins of the concept of citizenship date back to the Greek world, in particular to the Aristotelian thought that recognized the centrality of the citizen (polites) within the State (polis). The polites were one who participated in the life of the community, holding political offices and providing military service. The status of citizen was permanent, it was lost only by dishonesty or exile. In Roman law, the status civitatis distinguished the Roman citizen, civis romanus, from the non- citizen and, together with the status libertatis, which distinguished the free man from the slave, and the status familiae, which distinguished the pater familias from other family members, it was a necessary condition to have legal capacity. The civitas (citizenship) must be understood as an essential condition, expression of a bond between civis (citizen) and the community in which him lives, for the acquisition of legal capacity, to be exercised both in the private sphere and in the public sphere. It was possible to become a citizen by birth from a citizen father, or through the birth of a citizen mother, in the absence of a legitimate marriage, or through the collective will of those who already possessed citizenship. Even the slave of a Roman citizen, if released, acquired citizenship. In republican Rome the citizen could: exercise the right to vote in popular assemblies; to be the holder of the patria potestas and the dominium on things and slaves; be exempted from taxes imposed on provincials; escape from exile. Following the territorial expansion of Rome, the constitution was extended to other populations: in 89 BC it was granted to all free men of Italy; in 49 BC also the Transpadani, those who were beyond the Po respect to Rome, obtained the plenum ius. The right of citizenship, which could be granted to individuals or entire communities, continued to be highly sought after; in the imperial age, its concession was reserved to the emperor. In medieval times the right of citizenship was originally granted to those who for a certain number of years owned a house within the enclosure of the walls and paid taxes. Later, it gradually extended to the various categories of immigrants, with different provisions. The extent to which the municipality of Bologna offered all the servants of the plebs the possibility of becoming free by moving to the city was famous, based on the principle that "the air of the city sets you free". It was one of the many forms through which the communal city led the battle against the feudal aristocracy. The term "bourgeois" refers to the inhabitant of the “burgus”, an agglomeration born outside the ancient city and distinct from the countryside. With "citizen", instead, it was indicated who had the privileges of citizenship and was, therefore, a member of the civitas. Often there were conflicts between the inhabitants of the burgus and the city for the conquest of the same rights; in fact, however, over time "bourgeoisie" and "citizenship" ended up taking on the same meaning. Being a citizen undoubtedly involved a series of duties such as paying taxes, defending the municipality and becoming part of its military structure, but also numerous privileges such as the right to participate in the council that governed the city and to cover one of the many offices where articulated the public government. The so-called Edict of Caracalla, issued in 212 AD, introduced a concept of expansive citizenship in accordance with the policies of territorial expansion; provided for the extension of citizenship to all the inhabitants of the empire, foreigners and free men, excluding immigrant foreigners and the rural masses. The edict was born to cope fiscal needs, through the expansion of the contribution base linked to the expansion of the Roman civitas. Sociological concept In sociology the concept takes on a broader meaning and refers to the belonging and the capacity of action of the individual in the context of a specific political community. The individual is therefore a member of a collectivity of which he shares values, rules and traditions. The sociological reflection on citizenship began in the post-war period with the studies of Thomas H. Marshall, with his book "class, citizenship and social development" dedicated to class inequality and social integration, which focuses on the possibility of reducing social inequalities through the introduction of the welfare state. It is precisely this work, in fact, that underlines how the notion of citizenship cannot be limited to the simple distinction between citizen and foreigner, but contains within itself a political and sociological value, as well as juridical. The "material" dimension of citizenship is that which today represents the most significant contribution of sociology to this kind of study, a citizenship understood as the ability of the subject, citizen and not, to be realized within a given political community starting from one's personal capital and the rights and services guaranteed to him. Citizen and subject The concept of citizen differs from that of subject, which refers to one who is subject to the sovereignty of a State; the condition of the subject implies purely passive juridical situations (duties and submissions), while that of the citizen implies the ownership of rights and other active legal situations, even if accompanied by duties and other passive legal situations. At a time when the state recognizes the subject’s civil and political rights, he becomes a citizen. However, even in a state that recognizes these rights there can be simple subjects, subject to the sovereignty of the state, but without citizenship rights. Currently the term subject is still widely used in international law where citizenship does not have the same importance as internal rights. Furthermore, it is used polemically to highlight situations in which the citizen does not have adequate rights towards the State. In monarchies, even constitutional and parliamentary, it is tradition to refer to citizens as subjects without implying the absence of civil and political rights. A relationship similar to that between a 1 2. When the citizen, during the state of war with a foreign State, has accepted or has not abandoned a public job or a public office or has served for that State without being obliged to it, or has voluntarily acquired citizenship. Furthermore, citizenship can be lost by express renunciation. However, in the event of loss, it is still possible to repurchase it, if certain conditions are satisfied such as the provision of military service or the taking up of a public job or the establishment of one's residence in Italy. Conclusions In recent years, the concept of citizenship is changing due to the many changes that involve modern society; the process of globalization is changing the reality of individuals, especially with regard to the so-called transnational citizens or migrants who, although residing in a different country, have very close relations with their state of origin, both socially and economically, in many cases even managing to influence policies. In its legal meaning citizenship is the condition of those who belong to a particular state, or more precisely, the set of rights (active and passive electorate) and duties (compliance with laws) that the law recognizes for citizens. Italian citizenship is therefore the status that determines rights and duties and it is the condition of the citizen to whom the Italian legal system recognizes the fullness of civil and political rights. Where civil rights mean the freedoms and prerogatives guaranteed to individuals; these rights can also be extended to organizations of which the citizen is a member. Political rights refer to those rights recognized by the state to their citizens so that they can participate in political life and in the formation of public decisions, they represent the expression of the people's self-government. Today, in most states, civil rights are also granted to non-citizens, and this recognition is also enshrined at constitutional level, while political rights tend to be linked to citizenship. References ■ Aucello, T. (n.a.). La cittadinanza italiana e la sua evoluzione. Storia costituzionale del Risorgimento. Retrieved March 20, 2019, from http://storiacostituzionale.altervista.org/ alterpages/files/ LACITTADINANZAITALIANAELASUAEVOLUZIONEDITOMMASOAUCELLO.pdf ■ Bussotti, L. (2019, February 7). Una storia delle leggi della cittadinanza italiana durante l'era della monarchia. Brewminate. A bold blend of news & ideas. Retrieved March 18, 2019, from https://brewminate.com/a-history-of-italian-citizenship-laws-during-the-era-of- the-monarchy-1861-1946/ ■ Gironda, V. F. (n.a.). Ius sanguinis o ius soli? Riflessioni sulla storia politica della cittadinanza in Italia. Il rasoio di occam. Retrieved March 22, 2019, from http:// ilrasoiodioccam-micromega.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/files/2014/01/Riflessioni- sulla-storia-politica-della-cittadinanza-in-Italia.pdf ■ Romeo, C. (2016, March 03). Lezioni di storia contemporanea (1848-1946) Diritti e cittadinanza. Fonti archivistiche e percorsi di ricerca. Carlo Romeo. 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