2022 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 4(2) origin is the source of legal non-recognition and (b) legal non-recognition and social non-recognition by the country of origin seem closely intertwined. A Voluntary Statelessness Voluntary statelessness describes cases where the source of statelessness is the individuals themselves.62 If individuals or collectives renounce nationality voluntarily, they are de jure stateless. I understand ‘voluntary’ to simply mean not being forced.63 Force can take at least two forms. First, it can be direct: individuals are forced to do something if not doing so is punished by someone else. Second, it can be structural: individuals are forced to do something if natural or social circumstances do not allow them to do otherwise. For instance, someone is forced to sell their beloved pet if they no longer have the financial means to pay for its well-being due to losing their job. Another more topical example concerns Palestinians who are de jure stateless but have been offered a non-Palestinian nationality. When they refuse to naturalise, they cannot be said to do this voluntarily because they understand naturalisation as the erasure of their Palestinian identity;64 their social circumstances prevent them from having a real choice. This also occurs when a colonised people rejects the coloniser’s nationality. Employing this definition of voluntary statelessness, former US national, Garry Davis, has arguably been the most visible and outspoken individual to voluntarily renounce their nationality. He is a paradigmatic example that legal nonrecognition and social non-recognition by the country of origin do not necessarily coincide. Despite renouncing his US nationality and thereby, legal recognition in Paris in 1948, Davis always retained some social recognition. Once a de jure stateless individual, he publicly advocated for world citizenship. His political activism received a lot of media attention.65 In the press, Davis was often portrayed as an idealist.66 The detailed coverage of his case brought him the support of many French intellectuals and thousands of ordinary people throughout Europe.67 Moreover, he was recognised by the UN. Herbert Evatt, President of the UN General Assembly at the time, invited him to make his case for world citizenship. In response, Davis spoke to a crowd of 2,000 admirers in Paris. The public address was followed by a mass rally of 12,000 people and a reception held by the President of France.68 Given the overwhelming public support and the considerable amount of social recognition that Davis enjoyed, it was, therefore, 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 For a more positive definition by its consequences, see Jocelyn Kane, ‘Voluntary Statelessness: Reflections on Implications for International Relations and Political Theory’ (Summer 2018) Migration and Citizenship: Newsletter of the American Political Science Association’s Organized Section on Migration and Citizenship. See Serena Olsaretti, ‘Freedom, Force and Choice: Against the Rights-Based Definition of Voluntariness’ (1998) 6(1) Journal of Political Philosophy 53, 54. Hind Ghandour, ‘Naturalised Palestinians in Lebanon: Experiences of Belonging, Identity and Citizenship’ (PhD Thesis, Swinburne University of Technology, 2017) 103. Joseph Preston Baratta, The Politics of World Federation: From World Federalism to Global Governance (Greenwood Publishing Group 2004) 401. ibid 403. ibid 399. They included public figures like the resistance hero, Robert Sarrazac, and the writer, Albert Camus. Davis was also later received by the Prime Minister of India: see Garry Davis, My Country Is the World (World Government House 1984) 122–28. 246