Privileged citizens go global, others go home - A study about the concept of global citizenship

Abstract: Global citizenship is an ambiguous concept that is often referred to in political and social contexts, but hardly being defined what it actually entails. This study aims to examine the universal construction of global citizenship, according to which every human being is constructed as the same with same rights. It becomes evident that there are differences when it comes to accessing the global belonging and feeling or identifying oneself as global citizen. With the help of feminist intersectional theory this study discusses the spheres of exclusion and inclusion of the global citizenship, stating that inequalities stem from colonialism and capitalism, reflecting first and foremost in inequalities such as class and citizenship status which directs the possibilities of mobility to different parts of the world. The existing oppressive attitudes of the society are also questioned in terms of whether people can identify themselves as global citizens if they are posed for discrimination in their national countries. Lastly, this study offers some alternatives to further think about and to discuss global citizenship in terms of solidarity, rather than trying to conform to the neoliberal notion of global citizenship.