The radicalisation of citizenship deprivation

Abstract

This article addresses the regulation of citizenship in the UK, in particular the recent increased powers of citizenship deprivation against individuals suspected of involvement in terrorism. It examines the genealogy of such a practice and explains the juridical context of its use. It argues that changes in citizenship policies, broadening state power and removing substantive and procedural safeguards, have eroded equal citizenship by creating a hierarchy among British citizens. This radical policy shift has been enacted in the context of counter radicalisation policies that posit commitment to British values as a key weapon in the ‘war on terror’. Muslims are at best ‘Tolerated Citizens’, required to demonstrate their commitment to British values. Muslims holding unacceptable extremist views are ‘Failed Citizens’ while the ‘home-grown’ radicalised terrorist suspect is conceived of as the barbaric Other to British values, whose failure as a citizen is severe enough to justify the deprivation of citizenship.