Noncitizenism 11 worse. Liberal theory, though various in interpretation, is based upon a commitment to the dignity of the individual and the notion that justice requires equality of liberty and respect (as well as solidarity). Yet, so long as a person needs citizenship, or quasi-citizenship (explained below), in order to be recognised, it looks like liberal theory is doomed to the inconsistency of excluding some ‘featherless bipeds’ from its scope.6 This book does not deny the special relationship of citizenship. It draws attention to another special relationship, that of noncitizenship, which has been ignored for too long. 5 What noncitizenism is and what it is not Central to the position in this book is that the construction of States upon liberal democratic principles gives rise to two relationships, neither more basic than the other. It is impossible to create a liberal State in a world of States without also creating citizenship and it is just as impossible to do so without creating noncitizenship. That is, in coming into being, the liberal State makes some people dependent upon it as citizens, and some dependent in what we can call a ‘noncitizen’ manner. In the way the world currently functions, this often puts great burdens upon such individuals. Yet, both citizenship and noncitizenship are foundational – they are both needed for the creation of the liberal State. The noncitizen-vulnerability and challenge are harder to mitigate qua noncitizenship, partially because we have so little experience of thinking about what an appropriate conception of noncitizenship would look like. While much theoretical work examines the relationships between citizens and States, this book addresses the noncitizen-State relationship directly. It recognises noncitizenship as an often active and dynamic relationship between an individual and a State, wherever on the planet s/he is. In a globally connected world a person can have a noncitizen relationship both from afar and from within the State in question, and this relationship may well intertwine with aspects of citizenship. Noncitizenship can be dormant, but it can also be ‘activated’ in various ways. Activated noncitizenship is easiest to trace when a person has migrated. As such, migrationactivated noncitizenship features heavily in this book. When a person is in a noncitizen relationship with the State in whose territory s/he is currently located, this can be referred to as ‘noncitizenship in situ’. Some noncitizens in situ have quasi-citizen relationships, symbolised for example by migrant worker or student visas, or by internationally protected statuses as in the case of refugees or stateless persons.7 Insofar as these statuses themselves are 5 The recent release of the Nauru Papers by UK newspaper The Guardian has shown the extent of the maltreatments considered acceptable towards migrants Australia has relocated to its offshore detention centre on the island. 6 This phrase is attributed to Plato. It derives from (but does not appear in) The Statesman, in which Socrates dialogues with a ‘stranger’ who distinguishes between bipeds and quadrupeds and then identifies humans as being those bipeds that are not birds, that is, which do not have feathers. Julia Annas and Robin Waterfield (eds) (1995) Plato: The Statesman, Cambridge University Press. 7 Some of those experiencing noncitizen vulnerability may even officially be citizens of their countries of noncitizenship. This is introduced below.