Constituting citizens: oaths, gender, religious attire

Ayelet Shachar

- completed -

The requirements of naturalization tell us a great deal about a given society’s vision of citizenship, the expressive function of law, and the power dynamics revealed when one stands on the cusp of membership. Contributing to the burgeoning literature on global and domestic legal pluralism, this research project explores how states determine who legally belongs to the political community, and according to what criteria. It also reveals the importance of agency and resistance in testing the boundaries of membership. Combining insights from law and political theory, the project offers a comprehensive comparative study of textual and performative aspects of citizenship oaths and their centrality to processes of becoming members, especially in diverse societies negotiating the trilemma of constituting identity, respecting diversity, and promoting equality.

Representative publication:

Shachar, A. (2020). “On the Verge of Citizenship: Negotiating Religion and Gender Equality.” In P. S. Berman (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Global Legal Pluralism (pp. 1017-1043). Oxford University Press.