Interest in citizenship has never been higher. Politicians of all stripes stress its importance, as do church leaders, captains of industry and every kind of campaigning group--from those supporting global causes, such as tackling world poverty, to others with a largely local focus, such as combating neighborhood crime. In this brilliant, compact introduction, Richard Bellamy offers an eye-opening look at an idea that is as important as it is rare--the prospect of influencing government policy according to reasonably fair rules and on a more or less equal basis with others. Bringing together the most recent scholarship, the book sheds light on how ideas of citizenship have changed through time from ancient Greece to the present, looks at concepts such as membership and belonging, and highlights the relation between citizenship, rights, and democracy. Bellamy also examines the challenges confronting the very possibility of citizenship today, the impact of globalization, the desirability of "global citizenship," the teaching of citizenship in schools, citizenship tests for immigrants, and the many different definitions and types of citizenship in modern society.

人们对公民权的兴趣从未如此之高。各类政治家都强调它的重要性，教会领袖、行业领袖和各种运动团体也是如此--从支持全球事业的团体，如解决世界贫困问题，到主要关注地方的团体，如打击社区犯罪。在这篇精彩而紧凑的介绍中，理查德-贝拉米对一个既重要又罕见的想法进行了一次大开眼界的审视--根据合理的公平规则，在与他人大致平等的基础上影响政府政策的前景。本书汇集了最新的学术成果，揭示了从古希腊到现在，公民身份的观念是如何变化的，探讨了成员和归属等概念，并强调了公民身份、权利和民主之间的关系。贝拉米还研究了今天公民身份的可能性所面临的挑战、全球化的影响、"全球公民身份 "的可取性、学校的公民身份教学、移民的公民身份测试以及现代社会中许多不同的公民身份定义和类型。