Transnational status and cosmopolitanism: are dual citizens and foreign residents cosmopolitan vanguards? ANDREA SCHLENKER University of Lucerne, Frohburgstr. 3, 6002 Lucerne, Switzerland
[email protected] Abstract Empirically growing transnationalism and normatively demanded cosmo- politanism may be closely connected when considered as different elements of new forms of citizenship beyond the single nation-state. Do individuals with either full (dual citizenship) or partial (foreign resident) transnational status exhibit more cosmo- politanism than mono citizens? This article decodes the multidimensional character of cosmopolitanism using major democratic theories – liberalism, republicanism, and communitarianism. Multivariate regression analyses of data from a survey among mono citizens, dual citizens and foreign residents in Switzerland reveal that a trans- national status is associated with cosmopolitanism in a differentiated way. Dual citizens and especially foreign residents are more likely than mono citizens to exhibit liberal cosmopolitanism; but only dual citizens having full political rights and oppor- tunities in two countries are more likely to exhibit republican cosmopolitanism and only foreign residents excluded from the political community of residence are more likely to exhibit communitarian cosmopolitanism. Each of them can thus be considered as van- guards in specific ways. Our study furthermore demonstrates the added value of dis- aggregating both cosmopolitanism and transnationalism. Keywords COMMUNITARIANISM, COSMOPOLITANISM, DUAL CITIZENSHIP, FOREIGN RESIDENTS, LIBERALISM, REPUBLICANISM, TRANSNATIONALISM Fuelled by high levels of international migration, a growing number of people worldwide have formal ties across national borders and a legal status that is different from that of the majority population. More and more countries are accepting dual citizenship (Brøndsted Sejersen 2008) and increasing numbers of individuals are using the opportunity to formalize their multiple belonging (Bloemraad 2004).