Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8267

Title: Citizenship Status and Pressure Group Action
Authors: Dietrich, Dominic
Department of Government and International Relations
Issue Date: 2011
Abstract: This thesis investigates the intersection between citizenship status and pressure group action. It asks a two-pronged question. First, does variation in citizenship status (to be citizen or noncitizen) produce variation in pressure group action? Second, where there is variation, how is it that citizenship status matters; where there is no variation, how is it that citizenship status (a decidedly political status) does not matter? In response to this two-part question, a two-part theoretical framework has been developed. To answer the question of whether citizenship status matters, an interactive model of action has been developed. This provides a common measure through which similarities and differences in action-paths between citizen and non-citizen pressure groups can be uncovered. It is found that citizenship status does have an effect on pressure group action, notably in a pressure group’s interaction with a) their constituency; b) potential allies; c) other-state political institutions; and d) other-state media. To answer the question of how citizenship matters and does not matter, the idea of the capability mechanism has been developed. This asserts that variation in citizenship status - understood through either a rights or identity framework - produces, reduces, or removes capabilities. This, in turn, shapes action. This model is also used to explain similarities. Both the empirical findings and the theoretical frameworks developed within this thesis are useful for further analysis of the significance of citizen or non-citizen status on one’s relationship to political systems.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8267
Department/Unit/Centre: Department of Government and International Relations
Appears in Collections:Honours Theses - Government and International Relations

Files in This Item:

File Description SizeFormat
Dominic Dietrich.pdf688.47 kBAdobe PDFView/Open

Items in Sydney eScholarship Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.