Citizenship and Nationhood in France and Germany [Paperback]

The difference between French and German definitions of citizenship is instructiveand, for millions of immigrants from North Africa, Turkey, and Eastern Europe, decisive. Rogers Brubaker shows how this differencebetween the territorial basis of the French citizenry and the German emphasis on blood descentwas shaped and sustained by sharply differing understandings of nationhood, rooted in distinctive French and German paths to nation-statehood.Learned, shrewd, and demanding.[A] concise and elegant comparison of the national identities of France and Germany, and the citizenship policies that flow from them& Brubakers excellent study is the best available guide to the intellectual background of the current crisis in German self-identity.Brubakers extremely timely book traces the history of citizenshiplegal status, heartfelt identityin France and Germany. Each nation had, and still has, a very different idea of citizenship& Brubaker is erudite and clear, and keeps an acutely open mind-no easy thing in these murky waters.Brubaker brilliantly integrates institutional and cultural analysis. His focus on immigrants and citizenship in France and Germany makes a compelling case for understanding modern national states not only as organizations but also as associations of members.The difference between French and German definitions of citizenship is instructiveand, for immigrants from North Africa, Turkey, and Eastern Europe, decisive. Brubaker shows how this differencebetween the territorial basis of the French citizenry and German emphasis on blood descentwas shaped by sharply differing understandings of nationhood.