Life as citizen or stateless in Burma - A case study of the concepts of citizenship and statelessness in a weak state

Abstract: Ever since the principle of sovereignty was established in Europe after the peace of Westphalia in 1648, the importance of belonging to a state has increased. And in today's society, during a time filled with a lot of wars and a major refugee crisis, having a citizenship has never been more important. Having a citizenship means that you get certain rights, but also obligations towards the state. It also means that if you are without, defined as stateless, you have to live without the protection only a state can provide. This thesis, through theory testing on a case study will examine what the concepts, citizenship and statelessness, mean in terms of rights and obligations in the context of a weak state, in this thesis Burma. The analysis will show that the national laws are designed to clearly benefit those who the government consider to be citizens and to actively exclude others, such as the ethnic minority, Rohingyas. In the analysis, it also becomes apparent that the rights that do exist for the citizens in Burma are not always up to international standards.