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Article Dans Une Revue Citizenship Studies Année : 2024

Heroic citizenship

Résumé

This paper examines the issue of heroism as a sufficient condition for the acquisition of citizenship. I define heroism as exceptional, supererogatory, and risky acts of altruism and heroic citizenship as the reward for a heroic action carried out by a non-citizen resident of membership rights. I mobilize in particular the case of Mamoudou Gassama, ‘the Spiderman of Paris’, who was naturalized by the French President in 2018 after saving a child. While such positive outcomes for people in precarious legal and political situations are valuable, I provide a critical analysis of the ideological scaffolding and political meaning of heroic citizenship, i.e. how it is publicly justified and practiced. I argue that heroic citizenship constitutes a fiat of citizenship that reproduces a problematic picture of citizenship, relying on three ideological tropes: nationalism, sovereigntism, and moralism. Heroic citizenship represents the other side of a broader policy trend that has transformed citizenship into a privilege to earn.
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Dates et versions

hal-04591302 , version 1 (28-05-2024)

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Benjamin Boudou. Heroic citizenship. Citizenship Studies, 2024, pp.1 - 21. ⟨10.1080/13621025.2024.2355157⟩. ⟨hal-04591302⟩
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