Are or should rights be based on nationality The Module is [ Essay

Are or should rights be based on nationality The Module is [ Citizenship in Theory and Practice] politics - Essay Example It is for this reason that arbiters of rights are always under scrutiny and lot of discussion goes on regarding the role and task of rights arbitrator for informing people regarding their rights. The question of rights has always challenged political philosopher and thinkers. The question has also tested the wits of moral thinkers as it is one of the fundamental issues of morality. Since, philosophy started in ancient Greece therefore early thought had Greek city state or polis in mind and for this reason the application of rights focused on the relationship of individual and polis. As such, the idea of rights is mainly based on the responsibilities of the individual citizen to the wider polis (Delanty, 2000). Individual submitted before the authority of polis for the protection of his life and limb. The concept of rights in the ancient world was related with area and territory. The concept of citizenship was firmly based on birth. Therefore, the development and application of rights has traditionally been firmly linked with a concept of territorial integrity (Lister & Pia, 2008). Modern concept of Western nationalism has firmly established the link between rights and territorial integrity, which was originally formed in ancient Greece and practiced in Roman Empire. ... Nationality and the nation state have always been linked; as a result, a similar link has been formed between the concept of rights and the foundation of nationality (Held, 1995). This strong link of rights and nationality continued on for a long period of time but development in science and technology along with better communication has brought significant changes in the outlook and approach of thinkers. Many factors are responsible for the changed attitude but three primary processes account for this attempt to revise the idea of rights. Firstly, migration has brought phenomenal changes in the concept of nationality. Secondly, the formation of regional political structures has meant that concepts of regional citizenship have taken firm ground. Numerous examples of regional bodies can be found; however, possibly the most significant at the present time is the European Union (Faist, 2007). Finally with advent of Information Technology the concept of globalisation has become a byword. The commencement of globalisation and the necessary political responses that have been taken have led many to question whether basing rights on nationality is applicable in an unified and mutually dependent world (Held, 1995). This concept of globalisation has questioned the link of rights and territory. Above all, as globalisation has increasingly served to de-link individuals and societies from the national setting, the idea that rights can be founded on the basis of national territory has been greatly criticised (Held, 1995). Considering the above assessment, the purpose of this work is to assess and examine whether, or should the application of rights be based on