Tool or Reward? Trajectory of Citizenship Policies in the EU 15 (2006 – 2016)

The migration/citizenship nexus has seen significant academic attention in recent years. Key debates revolve around degrees of policy convergence or divergence, and whether naturalization requirements have moved in liberal or restrictive directions. Yet scholarly focus primarily tends to be on citizenship and integration tests. This means that the broader battery of policies, which make up ‘citizenship’ and signal state views on how to ‘create new citizens’, is often downplayed. What can thus be said about how states understand citizenship? This is a particularly relevant question to ask in light of numerous attempts across Europe to upgrade the term. By invoking EUDO Citizenship data on modes of citizenship acquisition, the article analyses where states in the EU15 place the emphasis. It then seeks to establish in which direction(s) policies have moved over the last decade. Is citizenship seen as a tool that facilitates integration? Or is it a reward given to successfully integrated migrants?