What does it mean to be a citizen of a democracy today? This book challenges us to re- evaluate and ultimately reorient our state- based conception of democratic citizenship in order to meaningfully account for the context in which it is lived: a globalised, deeply interconnected, and deeply unjust world.
Hobden argues for a new conception of citizenship that is state- based, but globally oriented. The book presents a new account of collective responsibility that includes responsibility for a wider range of collective outcomes.
Drawing upon this account, Hobden argues that citizens can be held collectively morally responsible for the acts of their state, both domestically and internationally.
The book explores how this conception of citizenship, with its attendant collective responsibility, can speak to citizens of today: those experiencing the costs of inequality and oppression; those living under semi- and newly democratic regimes; and those living as non- citizen residents. It encourages
an active citizenship and presents innovative channels of participation, with discussions on civic education in the media and political consumerism.
Offering a new lens on citizenship in a global context, this book will be of great interest to scholars and students of political theory, global justice, citizenship, democratic theory, and collective responsibility.
Part I. The Concepts: States, Citizens, and Global Injustice
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. The State and Justice, Globally
Chapter 3. Citizenship: A Conception
Part II. Collective Moral Responsibility for Citizens
Chapter 4. Collective Moral Responsibility: The Collective Outcome Account
Chapter 5. Closing the Gap: Responsible Collectives
Chapter 6. Citizens’ Individual Obligations
Part III. Responsibility Enacted
Chapter 7. Facing up to Complexity
Chapter 8. Citizens in a Globalised World
Chapter 9. Conclusion
Biography
Christine Hobden is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Fort Hare, East London, South Africa and an Iso Lomso Fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute of Advanced Study. From May 2021, she will be a Senior Lecturer in Ethics and Public Governance at the Wits School of Governance. She is a political theorist whose research focuses on citizenship, international justice, and collective responsibility.
