A mandatory attribute of any state is its population. Without a huge array of people, a country simply does not have any legal status and weight in the international arena. However, the question arises of how do people relate to the population of a state? Initially, scientists put forward the theory that each country is a separate ethnic community. But what then are such large multinational state titans like the USA or Russia?
It follows that ethnic theory is completely unsuitable for explaining a person’s belonging to a certain country. With the development of democracy and law in general, a concept was invented that fully characterizes a person as a part of a certain state. In this article, we will examine in detail the term “citizenship” as a legal regime and an internal ideology of a person.
Citizenship as a legal status
Many people wonder what it means to be a citizen. The theory of constitutional law answers it in detail. A citizen is a person endowed with citizenship, and citizenship, in turn, is a stable, indestructible connection based on the right, which is expressed by the presence of mutual rights, duties and responsibilities. Thus, citizenship is a legal regime in which a person is a citizen of a certain state. In constitutional law, citizenship acts as an institution, enshrined in the country's main law - the constitution.
Types of Citizenship
Earlier in some monarchical states, citizenship was in the form of an institution of citizenship. This legal regime is due to a person’s relationship with a particular monarch, and not with the state. Such a legal model is characterized by a deep antidemocratic meaning, because a citizen is responsible to a special, and not a socio-political structure in the form of a state. Today, in many countries citizenship is replaced by citizenship, as the latter is a more thoughtful and functional institution.
Citizenship Process
So, above we found out that a person must have a legal connection with the state, which allows us to understand what it means to be a citizen. But the legal institution of citizenship does not arise just like that. There are certain ways to acquire it, namely:
- By filiation. This is a way of obtaining citizenship upon the birth of a person. There are several types of filiation: according to the law of blood, soil and inheritance.
- The following method is applicable in cases where a person is, in fact, a citizen of another country, but wants to acquire the citizenship of another state. This species is called naturalization. There are two types of such citizenship: registration and talent.
- In international law, two types of obtaining citizenship are also distinguished: transfer (the territory of one state passes under the control of another) and option (the choice of citizenship by a person when crossing the border).
Ways to terminate citizenship
In some cases, a person’s citizenship may end. The legislation of the states of the whole world provides the following possibilities for this:
- Renunciation of citizenship. This opportunity is carried out exclusively at the initiative of the citizen. In many states, the institution of refusal is a novelty, because many constitutions enshrine the “unbreakable” connection of their citizens and countries.In the Russian Federation, withdrawal from citizenship is prohibited if a person does not provide evidence of the acquisition of citizenship of another state.
- There is a certain type of responsibility that involves depriving a person of citizenship. Many countries have abandoned this opportunity, but this sanction is effective against people who have committed anti-state crimes. Deprivation of citizenship must be distinguished from expatriation, in which a person is expelled from the territorial borders of the state.
- There are times when a person expresses a desire to enter into legal relations with another country in order to receive a new package of rights and obligations. For this, a change of citizenship is made.
The importance of the institution of citizenship in law
The development of democracy around the world has brought to the fore the institution of citizenship. This indicates that the role of human rights and freedoms has increased significantly. Such changes have led to the fact that an ordinary person is able to influence the political life of the state through suffrage. It should be noted that being a citizen of a state means having a certain amount of rights and freedoms. In other words, this is a certain model of legal relations between the state and the individual. In each country, this model is organized in its own way, so citizens of several states will have completely different rights and obligations.
Regulations governing the institution of citizenship
There are a number of regulatory acts of an international and national nature that fully regulate the existing institution of citizenship in the Russian Federation, and can also provide a legal assessment and answer to the question of what it means to be a citizen of the state. The article below will present a few of them, since the whole list is too large.
- Human Rights Declaration.
- Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.
- Covenant on Political and Civil Rights.
- European Convention on Citizenship.
- Constitution of the Russian Federation.
- Federal Law of the Russian Federation “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation”.
- Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
It should be remembered that in these normative documents only the legal characteristic of the concept of “citizen” is presented. At the same time, this term has a completely different meaning, which makes it possible to understand what it means to be a real citizen.
Citizenship as a psychological state of a person
It was said above that the legal connection between a person and the state is carried out through the implementation of the institution of citizenship. In everyday life, people do not think at all about what it means to be a real citizen.
We must always remember not only our relationship with certain people, but also the relationship with the state in which the person was born. For many centuries, philosophers have considered the concept of "citizen" in the context of the psychological state of man. This is an internal awareness and acceptance of the fact of belonging to the great people who live in some territory. Man's identification of himself as part of the whole is what it means to be a citizen. Of course, in many cultures the concept of “citizen” will differ significantly, given the territorial and ethnic characteristics, but in Europe and Russia in particular, the term will be almost identical.
What does it mean to be a citizen of Russia?
In the process of its historical development, man has become part of society. Out of society, none of us can live, except in some cases, such as, for example, asceticism. In ancient Greece, the most terrible punishment was expulsion from the community. This indicates that a person simply cannot live without his relatives. Today, many people in modern Russia ask themselves: “What does it mean to be a citizen of a country?” After all, citizens can be called a large part of the Russian population, which owns the passports of the Russian Federation, but receiving this document does not yet make a person a real part of the great people.A citizen is a person endowed with the quality of patriotism, a deep awareness of his indestructible connection with the great people of Russia.
Such people respect and love their land, try to influence the welfare of the state at the expense of their forces. When we ask ourselves what it means to be a citizen of Russia, you need to remember the words of a great man who is not connected with the Russian Federation, but got to the very point with his statement: “Do not ask about what your country has done for you. You must think about what you can, what you have done for your country. ” These words belong to John F. Kennedy. The statement reveals in detail the meaning of what a good citizen means for his state.
Qualities of a worthy citizen
Recently, it has become very fashionable to award the title of a worthy, honorable resident, citizen, person, etc. However, it is completely unclear by what criteria people decide what it means to be a worthy citizen. The dignity of any person before his state is manifested, first of all, in tolerance for all negative changes in political and social life. Of no small importance is the feeling of love for one’s country.
After all, it was on its territory that everyone received life, knowledge, and the possibility of self-development. Of course, not all of us have tolerance, patriotism, and deep love for our country. This begs the question of what it means to be a citizen? Today, trends have changed in many ways, so a person of society, a worthy citizen is not obliged to possess absolutely all of these qualities, it is enough for him to show even the slightest attempt to influence the life of his state. Resistance to all the turmoil and adversity that may arise in the process of historical development of any country is also of primary importance.
Given all the points mentioned above, one can answer the question: “What does it mean to be a citizen of a country?” A person worthy of being called a citizen can count on mutual assistance from the state in any vital issues.
