Los discursos sobre ciudadanía e inmigración en Europa: Universalismo, extremismo y educación

Abstract

In this article we analyse the fundamental changes in citizenship discourses which have taken place in the last 15 years due to the increasing cultural diversity in our societies. We explain which transformations have altered the different ingredients of this institution, designated to generate social cohesion in societies where the cultural difference is becoming progressively more visible: some elements of the ius soli have been widely adopted; as a set of rights, these have been enlarged and now include those of ethnic minorities; it is becoming different from belonging to a shared national identity, as used to be the case. All this, however, stands in sharp contrast with the fierce discourse on immigration of right-wing extremist parties which we briefly revise. They openly criticize multiculturalism and the extension of citizenship rights to non-national residents, and foster the harshening of requisites for granting citizenship and naturalization. Taking Europe as an example of a post-national community, we go on analysing which discourses on citizenship education have emanated from European institutions, and how they have evolved. European policies at this level have tried to extend a model of citizenship based on democratic values and linked to human rights’ discourse, more than on a shared cultural identity. In the last part we try to see if and how all this has affected European citizens, in the sense that they may now share some of these democratic values as defended by the European institutions; or rather, they may have adopted some –if not all of the– premises on the immigration issue defended by the extreme right. We attempt to answer this question on which of the two opposing ideas on citizenship –one inclusive and democratic, the other one openly closed and exclusionary– is more entrenched among Europeans by looking at some data on political participation at the European level and some other empirical information as presented by the Eurobarometers. The evidence, however, is far from conclusive.