Disenfranchisement As Arbitrary Law-making in Today’s Citizenship and Border Control Policies

Disenfranchisement, i.e. being legally barred from exercising political rights, is seldom discussed in relation to citizenship, naturalisation and border control policies. This paper takes up the challenge. The focus is on today’s arguably most critical form of disenfranchisement, that of non-nationals, and the exercise of arbitrary power that it embodies. The appearance of disenfranchised masses in contemporary democracies questions the state’s sovereign right to define its people in terms of citizenship policy.