A significant addition to the growing body of literature on citizenship, this wide-ranging overview focuses on the importance, and changing nature, of citizenship. It introduces the varied discourses and theories that have arisen in recent years, and looks toward future scholarship in the field.

* Offers an analytical assessment of the various thematic discourses and provides guidance in pulling together those discrete themes into a larger, more comprehensive framework

* Identifies the four broadly conceived themes that shape the many discourses on contemporary citizenship - inclusion, erosion, withdrawal, and expansion

* Includes a thorough introduction to the subject