Weapons of Massive Deception: Defusing the Destructive Potential of Citizenship in a New Geopolitical Era Rainer Bauböck* In an idealised version of the state-based international order, citizenship laws serve two purposes: domestically they determine the composition of the people whom governments represent and to whom they are accountable, and internationally they sort out which individual belongs to which state and thus which state has special responsibilities for protecting that individual’s rights. When citizenship is weaponised, both of these purposes are perverted. The bestowal of American citizenship on indigenous people (discussed by Lindsey Kingston in this forum),192 or of French citizenship on Algerians between 1946 and 1962 consolidated their subjection in a quasi-colonial relation. And the long-standing Russian policy of passportising territorial conflicts in its neighbourhood exemplifies how the attribution of citizenship can be used to destabilise other states and eventually threaten their territorial integrity. Neha Jain’s opening essay asks what resources are available in international law for opposing and maybe sanctioning such abuses of citizenship by states.193 Practically all contributors to our debate remain sceptical. Jelena Džankić considers opportunities for state abuse of citizenship to be an inherent feature of the international system and calls for bottom-up resistance by citizens educated about their role.194 Others plead for more nuance on what should count as illegitimate weaponisation (Ramesh Ganohariti)195 and when (Eleonor Knott).196 Timothy Jacob-Owens objects that general norms designed to censure the weaponisation of citizenship could also apply to benign forms of reparative citizenship offered to extraterritorial populations who have been historically wronged.197 Bronwen Manby argues that international non-recognition of wrongfully attributed citizenships may hurt the individuals concerned by denying them important rights and opportunities, such as those of international travel.198 Finally, Peter Spiro adopts a more sanguine view about the ineffectiveness of citizenship as a weapon in most cases and suggests that existing international norms may suffice to condemn the worst cases.199 I would like to toss the ball that Jain has thrown in the air in the opposite direction.200 We should think about the destructive potential of weaponised citizenship in the context of a new geopolitical era in which two global powers – the United States and China – are locked in a rivalry that is rapidly expanding from the economic to the security terrain; in which regional powers like Russia, Iran, Israel, India, Pakistan or Turkey – depending on the nature of their internal political regime – are more likely to act aggressively towards other states; and in which deep interdependencies generated by globalisation since the 1990s make countries also more vulnerable to the hostile acts of other states. In such contexts, even “paper swords” (Spiro) may inflict harmful wounds.201 The bestowal of citizenship to extraterritorial groups can become an important tool for states claiming influence over other countries’ populations and ultimately also their territories. Domestically it may boost expansionist nationalist ideologies and abroad it can foster disloyalty among ethnic kin minorities towards their countries of residence – or at least create a perception of disloyalty among majority populations there. When assessing weaponised policies, we should not only consider their * 192 193 194 195 196 197 European University Institute and Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna Kingston 2022. Jain 2022. Džankić 2022. Ganohariti 2022. Knott 2022. Jacob-Owens T. (2022), ‘Imperial citizenship and the weaponisation of international law’, GLOBALCIT, Weaponized Citizenship: Should international law restrict oppressive nationality attribution? - Page 6 of 12 - Globalcit (hereinafter ‘Jacob-Owens 2022’). 198 Manby 2023. 199 Spiro P. (2023), ‘Paper-sword citizenship’, GLOBALCIT, Weaponized Citizenship: Should international law restrict oppressive nationality attribution? - Page 8 of 12 - Globalcit (hereinafter ‘Spiro 2023’). 200 Jain 2022. 201 Spiro 2023. European University Institute 36