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Introduction In Anger: Inhuman Immigration Contents: 1. The Historic Conquest of Citizenship 2. Citizenship Under the Rule of Law 3. From Liberal Government to Social Government 4. Social Justice and The Separation of Powers This Issue in the Press: The Separation of Power Lets Go to the Cinema: A Man for All Seasons Looking Through Images: Reflections of Freedom, Democracy and Justice The World of Literature: Baltasar Gracin Final and Summary Activities Find Out and Take Part
Lets Work
The complexity of the concept of citizenship The evolution of the concept of citizenship throughout history The definition of the rule of law The meaning of the expression social and democratic rule of law The importance of the separation of power
Introduction
The exercising of our citizenship is always done in a historical context that is always evolving and changing. Therefore it is important to approach the exercising of citizenship from a historical point of view. That means, knowing that our pretentions to citizenship are not the first and will not be the last. In recent decades, moral philosophy and politics have not approached citizenship only in legal terms, as if the practise of the citizenship was only reduced to the relation between the people and the legal systems or legislation itself. Nowadays, as well as speaking of legal citizenship, we use terms such as social, cultural, economic and even intercultural citizenship. In order to refer to all of these things as part of peoples' democratic life we shall speak of "democratic citizenship". In this unit we will look at how the concept of citizenship has changed, and to what extent it has been related, from the very beginning, to political organisation. Sometimes we refer to political organisation in terms of government (polis, republic) and this is the reason why it is important to understand the relationship between citizenship and types of states. Nowadays we only speak of true citizenship when there is a state ruled by laws, values and human rights. We also describe political organisations as democracy, describing not only the forms of government, but also a form of participating in public matters, of identifying with a political community and promoting a worthwhile existence for all human beings. One of the most important institutions in the development of democratic citizenship is the Public Administration. It is a part of an executive power, not only in a national sense, but also in the context of an autonomous region and in a local sense. Nowadays, democratic citizenship is not only practised on a national level. On the one hand it is open to a cosmopolitan citizenship, where the people in a country consider themselves as citizens of the world; for example the way people in Spain are citizens of the European Union. On the other hand, democratic citizenship is open to an environment of proximity in which local and autonomous powers participate. In Spain, the city halls and autonomous regions are institutions that administer increasingly more public services every day. This idea of service has developed historically as the ideas of separation of powers and social justice have become part of citizens' democratic convictions.
Poster of the movie Las cartas de Alou (1990, M. Armendriz). A movie that brilliantly shows the ups and downs of immigration.
A picture that shows the arrival of the pateras (small boats) through the Strait of Gibraltar (published in different digital media)
Contents
1. The Historic Conquest of Citizenship Athens and Ancient Citizenship The concept of citizenship appeared in Greece in the 5th and 4th centuries before Christ. It describes the way free individuals, who because of their condition could take responsibility for the dealing with public matters, participated in city life. These cities were actually medium-sized towns called polis. This term refers to a city-state, which means, not only the union of citizens but also the way in which they were organised. Not everyone had the condition of citizen (polits), because women, children and slaves were not considered capable of taking on the responsibility of running the city. The ones who had the condition of citizens were obliged to participate in the running of the city, holding positions in equality and changing positions from time to time. Rome and the Limits of Laws Another important moment in the history of citizenship came with the expansion of the Roman Empire. Rome developed the Greek idea of citizenship and spread it throughout the Mediterranean. Roman Law developed the procedures for taking part in the life of the Republic and obtaining citizenship. To be a citizen of Rome was a privilege and honour people from other places could achieve if they obeyed the laws of the Empire or the Republic. From the first century before Christ to the third after Christ, the concept of citizenship changed, not only because it spread throughout the Mediterranean, but because it raised a very important problem: could only those who obeyed Roman laws be citizens? Was it possible to have another law, another Republic and another way of being a citizen? Stoic philosophers like Seneca and Cicero set out an interesting transformation of the concept of the citizen and extended it to individuals capable of submitting to the laws of reason, as if the city in which they had to live was not a real city as had been seen up until then, but rather a virtual city in which all human beings could participate. National Citizenship, Modern Citizenship This tension between the real citizenship imposed by Rome and the virtual citizenship in which one took part only by using reason and considering himself to be part of the world, would mark the birth of the modern concept of citizenship. Apart from this tension between written and unwritten laws, from the 6th century onwards, the concept of citizenship would be directly related to the new ways of understanding the Republic which, from then on, would receive the name of nation. Citizenship became national and was limited by the state of belonging to a territory, by the link to a sovereign power and by the achievement of certain benefits in exchange for certain responsibilities. With the appearance of modern nations, sovereignty was the responsibility of the nation as a whole (national sovereignty) or of the people defined as a group formed by all individuals (popular sovereignty).
ACTIVITIES:
2. Citizenship and the Rule of Law From the State of Nature to the Rule of Law From the 17th century onwards a concept of citizenship was consolidated that has lasted until today. It is a citizenship we can call legal because it is related to the capacity to submit to laws or the Law and transform both laws and the Law. This double movement of observance and transformation of laws defines the concept of modern citizenship. To describe this double movement political philosophers thought it was important to differentiate between two ways of understanding the organisation of social and political life. On one hand, there is the primitive and gregarious form in which individuals are all in conflict because they consider each other as wolves (homo homini lupus). This form is called the state of nature and is not the state of civilised and intelligent people. On the other hand, there is an evolved and educated form in which individuals cooperate and are capable of giving way in their ambitions so that everyone can be a part of the project of the city. This form receives the name of rule of law, because the relation between laws and the Law is a criterion to measure the level of civilisation. The state of nature (barbarity) is in complete opposition to the rule of law (civilisation). The Rule of Law and the Social Contract This leap from barbarity to civilisation happens when individuals are capable of submitting to the rules of a contract. The citizen is the person who is ready to make this leap and assume the consequences. The rules, norms, laws and values that are treated in this contract form a rule of law. Citizenship according to Two Modern Philosophers: Locke and Rousseau J. Locke Essay on Civil Government Being men free, equal and independent by nature, none of them can be withdrawn from this situation and submitted to political power with his consent. This is given by an agreement celebrated with others to meet and integrate in a community destined to offer them a good, safe and peaceful life together. Two Treaties of Government J. J. Rousseau The Social Contract This act of association creates a moral and collective body, composed of as many members as the assembly contains votes, and receiving from this act its unity, its common identity, its life and its will. This public person, so formed by the union of all other persons formerly took the name of city, and now takes that of Republic or body politic; it is called by its members State when passive, Sovereign when active, and Power when compared with others like itself. Those who are associated in it take collectively the name of people, and several are called citizens, as sharing in the sovereign power, and subjects, as being under the laws of the State. The Social Contract. Or Principles of Political Right
ACTIVITIES:
1. Define the following expressions: State of nature, rule of law, social contract. 2. Read Locke and Rosseau's texts carefully. What stands out in each of them? How do they understand political association (contract)?
3. From Liberal State to Social State The Liberal Rule of Law After the liberal revolutions of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, the rule of law was called liberal rule of law. This form of political organisation made individual freedoms the centre of democratic citizenship. These are the true freedoms, because public powers have the obligation to guarantee, consolidate and strengthen these individual freedoms as the basis of democratic citizenship. Social State and Welfare State After the socialist revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries, the rule of law was called social rule of law. This form of political organisation makes social conditions, material necessities and economic resources the centre of democratic citizenship. So that fundamental rights were not just formal rights or rights only recognized on a paper, the defenders of the social state proposed equality as the centre of democratic citizenship. The social state did not promote equality of results but it did present equality of opportunities, so that the less capable citizens could participate as equals in public life. This concern for equality produced some new rights called social rights. Among these we can find the right to education, healthcare and cultural training. The social state not only protected citizens, it also trained them and promoted them in order to encourage their welfare. This is why we can say that we have passed from a social state to a welfare state. Social and Democratic Rule of Law The Spanish Constitution was one of the last European constitutions of the 20th century. When it was written it adopted aspects of the liberal and social state. This summary of political traditions is one of the biggest efforts of the constitution because liberal- and socialistinspired traditions can rule from it. A summary that does not refer to the existence of rights and laws but to the recognition of values that are not the property of any political or ideological tradition therefore receive the name of higher values.
Artculo 1 de la Constitucin Espaola 1. Espaa se constituye en un Estado social y democrtico de Derecho, que propugna como valores superiores de su ordenamiento jurdico la libertad, la justicia, la igualdad y el pluralismo poltico. 2. La soberana nacional reside en el pueblo espaol, del que emanan los poderes del Estado. 3. La forma poltica del Estado espaol es la Monarqua parlamentaria.
Artculo 10 de lEstatut dAutonomia de la Comunitat Valenciana 1. La Generalitat defender y promover los derechos sociales de los valencianos que representan un mbito inseparable del respeto de los valores y derechos universales de las personas y que constituyen uno de los fundamentos cvicos del progreso econmico, cultural y tecnolgico de la Comunitat Valenciana. [] 4. La Generalitat, en el marco de sus competencias y mediante su organizacin jurdica, promover las condiciones necesarias para que los derechos sociales de los ciudadanos valencianos y de los grupos y colectivos en que se integren sean objeto de una aplicacin real y efectiva.
4. Social Justice and Division of Power Democratic Citizenship and Social Justice Without the rule of law democratic citizenship is impossible. There can be other forms of citizenship (legal, social, economic, global), but without a social and democratic rule of law there are no guarantees that individuals can develop within all the dimensions of their lives as citizens. They could do it as voters, as consumers, as patients, as believers, but democratic citizenship allows a complete development of all dimensions of life. One can be citizen in a non-democratic state, but citizenship would be limited and restricted. When we speak of democratic citizenship we describe the conditions of belonging to a political community and also the conditions of participation. The level of integration and participation facilitates the application of the values of liberty and equality. Furthermore, they make the justice within which they are expressed be not just a nominal or virtual justice, it also measures up to the people and is a justice with a human face, receiving the name of social justice. Democratic Citizenship and Separation of Power Unlike restrictive concepts of citizenship, democratic citizenship is a citizenship that limits power in general. When there is a real consciousness of democratic citizenship it is difficult to exercise power in an arbitrary or tyrannical way. Democratic citizenship is the best tool against despotism and tyranny because it promotes the separation of power. The three traditional powers are legislative power (creation of laws), executive power (governs according to the laws) and judicial power (applies laws and justice). The separation of power is what we could call a principle of democratic health, because it allows some powers to correct the others and these powers do not last over time. Allowing citizens to be in charge of the administration of small matters, rather than presenting them with the governing of bigger matters means you interest them in the public good and you make them see the need that all people work to produce this good. First you occupy the general interest and, by working for the wellbeing of fellow citizens, they acquire the habit and love of serving them. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America. El Estado de derecho no es slo una cosa de juristasel Estado y el derecho no son sino medios oportunos, puede que imprescindibles para un fin ms esencial: no se hizo el hombre para ellos, sino ellos para el hombreA quienes en rigor ms importa que aqul exista, funcione y sea real y formalmente respetado, no es tanto a los gobernantes sino a los ciudadanos, a sus derechos, a sus libertades y a sus necesidades; y muy especialmente les interesa a aquellos que pueden protegerse menos, o nada, por sus propios medios, empezando por los de carcter econmico. E. Daz, Filosofa del derecho. Legalidad y Legitimidad
ACTIVITIES: 1. What is democratic citizenship? Why is the separation of power so important? 2. Read the texts by Tocqueville y E. Daz carefully. What title would you give each of them? What ideas are the authors defending?
THINK - If you watch the movie, make a list of the characters that appear and describe them briefly: what they are like, what they do, how they dress, how they react and, above all, how they argue. - Why is conscience so important? What does it have to do with dignity? And with citizenship? - You already know characters such as Socrates. What differences could be established between these two characters?
Look for Some Facts - Look for information about other monuments to the Constitution (1978). Are there any in your city? Learn to Look - Describe the artistic composition. - What do you think the different elements mean? Think About the Image - Why do you think these monuments are important? - If you had to represent the Constitution, knowing what it itself represents, how would you do it? Try
MONUMENT TO THE 1978 CONSTITUTION (MADRID): M. A. RUIZ-LARREA Located in the gardens of the Museo de Ciencias Naturales, on the corner of Calle Vitrubio and Paseo de la Castellana.
Look for Some Facts - Look for other representations of justice and the Law. Learn to Look - What elements appear in this painting and why do you think they are used to represent justice? Think About the Image - Do you think it is a correct representation? Why? - How would you represent justice? And the Law? KEEP THINKING AND IMAGINING - With what image, painting or drawing would you represent freedom? - If you had to organize an art exhibition under the title Freedom, which painters would you turn to? What kind of paintings would you choose?
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FEELING AND THINKING WITH WORDS - Research into who Gracin was. When did he live? What was his level of importance and relevance? - Gracin wrote using aphorisms. What is an aphorism? What did he want to express with them? - Read the aphorisms we offer you. Choose some of them and comment on them briefly. - One of them says el sumo derecho se hace tuerto. What is meant by that? Look for an example to explain it. - Invent a short aphorism that has to do with what you have learnt in this unit.
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Art. 54 de la Constitucin Espaola. Del Defensor del Pueblo Una Ley orgnica regular la institucin del Defensor del Pueblo, como alto comisionado de las Cortes Generales, designado por stas para la defensa de los derechos comprendidos en este Ttulo, a cuyo efecto podr supervisar la actividad de la Administracin, dando cuenta a las Cortes Generales.
2. You have probably heard of the public administration. Answer the following questions: - What does "administer" mean? How would you define public? What is the public administration? Who does it run and how? 3. It is important to understand social institutions, because they help us to live and coexist. As an example we ask you to research into civil protection and the office of immigration.
- What is it, on what does it depend and how does it work? - Who takes part? - What is it, what is it about and how does it work? - Who does it depend on and what are the procedures?
4. Legal questions sometimes affect more things than we think. Do you know if you have to ask permission to have a party on the street? Who gives it and what procedures are necessary? And what about permission to protest? Who gives it? What is the difference between a legal demonstration and an illegal one? What requirements are there?
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SECURITY
National Police Force Civil Guard Regional Police Local Police School Security Customs Officers Guard Civil Defence Volunteers
How is it organised?
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