Explaining Variation in Citizenship Regimes in Europe

In this paper we aim to explain the variation in citizenship regimes in Europe. While this question has been previously asked, prior studies have often looked at selective indicators of citizenship regimes only and in a restricted set of countries. Moreover, while a comprehensive set of historical, political and demographic factors is available from the comparative citizenship literature, existing work often assumes that relevant factors can independently explain variation across countries. We argue that this question is better approached in a configurational manner that is more case-oriented and recognizes the causal complexity of citizenship regimes. In this paper we use a fuzzy-set analysis to explore the factors that structure variation in citizenship regimes in 33 European countries.