The price of British citizenship
Citizenship is often discussed as a catalogue of rights. There is a less fashionable question, rarely asked: what is the price of belonging? In this essay, I argue that a state should not naturalise a person who does not regard that country as his or her home and who, in the last resort, is unwilling to defend it. Residence is not citizenship. A passport is not merely a travel document with a different cover. Citizenship entails membership of a national community, and membership carries obligations as well as protections. The price need not always be paid in armed combat. But there must be some price one is prepared to pay.
