Short Abstract

Citizenship remains a critical challenge in contemporary Africa, weaving together complex layers of belonging, identity, and exclusion. This panel explores the multidimensional spectrum of citizenship, navigating the tensions between state frameworks, local realities, and continental ideals.

Long Abstract

Citizenship remains one of the most contested concepts in political and legal scholarship. Moving beyond traditional frameworks, this panel conceptualises citizenship not as a fixed legal status, but as a dynamic, evolving terrain of belonging, identity, and exclusion. In contemporary Africa, belonging is shaped by overlapping factors including legal identity, political community, ethnicity, and religion, often echoing Mamdani’s seminal distinction between citizen and subject inherited from colonial rule. While State norms demand allegiance to a singular national identity, continental instruments, such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the AU Draft Protocol on the Right to Nationality, point toward an emerging, supranational layer of citizenship. Yet, individual lived experiences reveal deep systemic contradictions. Many African societies witness ramping intolerance and xenophobia, excluding many from dignity and belonging. Moreover, thousands of individuals across the continent remain stateless or legally invisible, trapped in a vacuum that strips them of fundamental rights and exposes the limits of state-centric legal bonds. Against this backdrop, this panel addresses three key questions: What analytical prisms best illuminate the challenges facing citizenship in contemporary African societies? How do States and international organisations shape belonging across local, national, and continental scales? How do marginalised populations navigate and renegotiate the boundaries of legal inclusion? We welcome interdisciplinary contributions from law, political science, history, sociology, and international relations that critically examine the multilayered dynamics of citizenship in Africa.

Propose paper