CITIZENSHIP AND NATIONHOOD, NATIONHOOD AND CITIZENSHIP A Comparative Study of Citizenship Legislation in Finland and Sweden

Sammanfattning

The European Union treaties stipulate the existence of common EU citizenship. However therequirements and conditions of citizenship acquisition and denaturalisation remain largely inthe hand of the nation states. Due to the privileges of the EU citizenship, mostly relating tothe freedom of movement and rights to consular aid overseas, it is in the interest of themember states to have an overview on aforementioned requirements and conditions.Meanwhile, there is extensive research on European citizenship regimes and the historicaldevelopment of the notions of citizenship and nationhood within the nation-state paradigm,both often focused on Western Europe. This study aims to connect the two fields through aqualitative examination of Finnish and Swedish citizenship legislation, consisting of anexamination and comparison of premises of acquisition at birth, through discretion andnaturalisation, and premises for involuntary denaturalisation. It is then finished by adiscussion regarding which ideas of nationhood are implied therein. The comparison is whenmost relevant complemented by an analysis of the intention of the given provision, throughthe reading of the preceding proposition of given provision.