AN EXERCISE IN WORLDMAKING 2009 - ISS

64 MEGHAN MICHELLE COOPER
these levels operating independently of the state and or simultaneously
influencing the function of the state. Challenges to such notions of citizenship
concern diverse issues and subjectivities as well as the role of the
citizens themselves within these structures, accounting for social contexts
and rights. Social movements have often been a part of this process,
promoting certain interests, agendas, and identities in the search for
the recognition and inclusivity of marginalized communities outside of
only a state-based orientation. Culture has arguably now been ignited in
the citizenship debate most notably through such authors as Dagnino,
Escobar, Alvarez (1998) and those claiming to be from more a ‘postmodern
tradition’. However, much of this can also be largely attributed
to the work of social movements, which have revealed and addressed
new levels of complexity to dealing with national citizenry (Roche 2002:
73). Therefore, I do not suggest that social movements are no longer
concerned about relationships with the state; rather, many have evolved
to recognize the connections that exist between diverse sets of issues
from different frameworks and the many actors involved in addressing
them.
CITIZENSHIP AS A CONCEPT AND A TOOL
The discourse surrounding citizenship has now been widely extended to
cover identities, grievances, gender, class, nationalities and ethnic considerations.
This has paved new avenues for actors to conceptualize the
citizens they wish to be viewed as. However, this malleability also leaves
room for manipulation and imposing conceptions of citizenship within
imbedded power structures. For example, Robison (2006) references the
notion of social neoliberalism whereby citizen’s rights are assumed
against their position and productivity in the market place (5). Furthermore,
approaches of Civic Driven Change (CDC), emphasizing civic
agency, assume a history of processes whereby power accumulation has
marginalized polities, “recasting citizenship in terms of clients to be
served by privatizing rights, public space and fulfillment of government
obligations” (Biekart and Fowler 2009: 4). It is important to note this
imposition, as social movements are likely to be engaged in the same
process, injecting notions, which communities and or individuals do not
identify with. This leaves many assumptions about the nature of participation
and representation of social movements. While this point cannot
be ignored, this paper argues that social movements are inherently more