Citizenship

 Citizenship is derived from the word

citizen. A citizen, according to Heywood
(1994), is a member of a political
community who is endowed with a set of
rights and a set of obligations.
 Citizen By Birth Is When
 if they were born in Zimbabwe and, when they were born—
(a) either their mother or their father was a Zimbabwean
citizen; or
(b) any of their grandparents was a Zimbabwean citizen by
birth or descent.
(2) Persons born outside Zimbabwe are Zimbabwean
citizens by birth if, when they were born, either of their
parents was a Zimbabwean citizen and—
(a) ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe; or
(b) working outside Zimbabwe for the State or an
international organisation.
(3) A child found in Zimbabwe who is, or appears to be,
less than fifteen years of age, and whose nationality and
parents are not known, is presumed to be a Zimbabwean
citizen by birth. (Sec. 36)
 A similar definition is by Jary and Jary
(1995) is that; a citizen is any member of
a political community or state that enjoys
clear rights and duties associated with
this membership.
 being a citizen has the following
characteristics: a member of a political
community or state, rights,
obligations. A political community refers
to a country e.g Malawi, Zimbabwe.
 To be a Citizen Means
 You Belong to that country
 You have rights and obligations to
perform
 One may be a citizen by birth or
registration.
 Rights
 Rights are entitlements citizens have eg
the right to be educated, right to vote
etc.
 There are two types of rights.
 Legal Rights
 Moral Rights
 Legal Rights
 are those rights that are enshrined in law
and are enforced through the courts.
 Legal rights can further be analysed in
terms of privileges, claim rights, legal
powers and immunities.
 E g the privilege to use public highways,
not to be assaulted by anyone.
 Moral Rights
 are ideal rights, which are based on
contents about what a person should
have.
 They are also referred to as human rights
eg right to life and right to property.
 The main aim of these rights is to
establish some parameters upon how
individuals may be treated by others
especially those with political power.
 Obligations
 Being a citizen implies that one has
obligations to carry out.
 an obligation is what a citizen is
supposed
to do while a right is how a citizen is
supposed to be treated.

 Obligations are a requirement or duties a

citizen must perform to the state. Eg
payment of taxes is an obligation.
 Legal and Moral
obligations
 Legal obligations are mandatory. There is
an element of coercion. It is like a duty.
 Failure to observe them may lead to court
action.
Eg failure to pay tax may lead to a person
being taken to court.
 A moral obligation is something that is
thought to be right or morally correct to
do but cannot be enforced through the
courts.
 Eg attending a funeral, greeting elders is
morally right.
 No punishment is administered for failing
to attend funeral or a wedding.
 Another obligation is political obligation,
which refers to the duty of citizen to
acknowledge and obey authority of the
state and its laws.
 The state must serve the interests of all
citizens by being neutral or impartial in
the way it discharges its duties or treats
its citizens. It is like a social contract
between the state and the citizens.
 Citizens should recognize the authority of
the state and obey its laws.
 If the state fails to follow its side of the
agreement/contract citizens have the
power to remove the state: through
elections.
Criticism of political obligations
 Marxists criticise political obligations.
 They say the state uses idea of political
obligation as an instrument of oppression.
 The state does not protect individual
rights but defends or advances the
interests of the ruling class.
 from a Marxist point of view, a political
obligation is only a myth or delusion meant
to reconcile the proletariat to its continued
exploitation.
 CITIZENSHIP
 Citizenship is the relationship between
the individual and the state in which
the two are bound together by reciprocal
rights and obligations (Heywood, 1994).
 The relationship may be compared to a
coin, which is made up of two sides that
reciprocate each other.
 The two cannot do without the other.
 The relationship is symbiotic which
means that the state and the citizen
depend on each other.
 Each side derives benefits from the
other. Each side cannot do without the
other side.
 For example citizens depend on the state
for
protection, so one can say he/she has
right to be protected but in order to be
able to do so the state should receive
taxes from citizens, which the citizens are
obliged to pay.
 So the state depends on the citizens for
financial support, in order to be able to
protect citizens.
 Types of citizenship
 Social citizenship (Passive Citizenship) is
characterized by
 Equality of citizens.
 Equal rights and obligations.
 Freedom from poverty, ignorance and despair.
 Absence of classes in society.
 No capitalism.

 Welfare assistance for the poor.

 Active Citizenship
 Active citizenship
 The state in this relationship does very little to
assist
citizens. Citizens work for their own survival.
 It is characterized by
 Self-reliance.
 Duty and responsibility
 Individualism.
 Hard working individuals.
 Less burden on public finances.
• Dignity and self-respect.
 No handouts.
 Loans and not grants.
 Weaknesses of Passive
citizenship
 this type of relationship is against individualism and
free
market.
 it kills the initiative of individuals to work
hard.
 people may develop a culture of dependency that
may lead to a creation of a permanent underclass.
 the ability of the state to assist everyone is limited
and thus may end up burdening citizens with too
many taxes as a way of reducing budget deficit.
 Weaknesses of active
citizenship
 Active citizenship reinforces inequalities
in society as it allows capitalism to thrive.
 Disadvantaged people continue to have
problems because they find it difficult to
compete with the rich.
 The system tends to blame the
disadvantaged people as citizens
responsible for their state.
 For example the poor are poor because
they do not work hard.
 Is citizenship education
important?
 It teaches us to respect others in a multicultural societies citizens and
non citizens alike.
 National consciousness or identity whereby people should be aware
of the importance of the uniqueness of their nation, their history, the
geography of the country, aware of other identities which include
regional, cultural, ethnic, religious, class, gender, etc.
 Political literacy so that citizens have knowledge of, and commitment
to, political institutions, legal institutions and social institutions of
one's country.
 Observance of rights and duties so that people enjoy their rights and
perform their duties.
 Citizens to be aware of both societal values and universal values.
 It also important to impart general intellectual skills, which are a
result of reading, communication, thinking, writing or discussion.
The Constitution of Zimbabwe
 A constitution spells out the relationship
between the state and its citizens.
 The first constitution was drawn in the
United States of America in 1787.
 In Zimbabwe, the first constitution after
independence was the Lancaster
constitution drawn in 1979. Before that,
there were other constitutions where
blacks were not allowed to participate.
 Constitution defined
 A constitution is a set of important
principles that governs how a country or
a state or an organization is run.
 It is a body of rules which gives duties,
powers and functions to various
institutions of government. It also defines
the relationship between individuals and
the state.
Why the Lancaster constitution
was replaced
 It was alleged to be foreign. The majority of
Zimbabweans did not participate in
discussions leading to the signing of this
constitution.
 It originated in Britain where three
delegations namely the British government
delegation led by Lord Carrington, the
Patriotic Party (ZANU-PF and ZAPU) led by
Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo and the
Zimbabwe-Rhodesia (led by Bishop Abel
Muzorewa) met to negotiate an end to the
liberation war.
 It was regarded as a British imposed
constitution whose values and traditions do
not reflect the culture of Zimbabweans.
 It was agreed to by people who were tired
of war.
 So the constitution was full of omissions
which have resulted in too many
amendments within a short period since
gaining independence.
 No fixed terms for the office of the president
or members of parliament.
 No age limits for the president or
members of parliament.
 The office of the president was too
powerful. For example many
appointments had to be approved by this
office without even referring to
parliament.
 Types of constitutions
 Constitutions may be classified as:
 Written or Unwritten

Most countries have written constitutions.

Britain and Israel have unwritten constitutions.
Monarchical or Republican constitutions.
Rigid or flexible constitution
Unitary or federal constitutions
Parliamentary or Presidential Executive
constitutions
Functions of a constitution
 It acts as a guideline on how things should be done
in a state or in an organization.
 It confers legitimacy on how things should be done
by ensuring that the governments follow rules as set
out.
 It helps to limit and regulate the power of those who
govern so that there is no abuse of power. In a way a
constitution acts as a check and balance mechanism.
 It gives power to the government to act in certain
ways.
 It protects fundamental freedoms and liberties of
individuals in a state. It helps to promote democratic
principles.
Important Features in the Zim
Constitution
 Zimbabwe is a Republic. (elected
representatives and people have power).
 The President of Zimbabwe is an
Executive President. (More power even in
the army and Judiciary)
 Acknowledges 16 Languages including
Sign language.
 It acknowledges two vice Presidents.
 A Run Down of Chapters.
 Chapter 1- 18
 Key points about a constitution

 The government must be founded on the principles of a

constitution.
 The government must respect the constitution.
 The constitution should be regarded as the
fundamental law of the country. Not to be violated by
anyone.
 The constitution should be stable. Stability of a
constitution is usually achieved by having rigid
mechanism so that it is not easy to amend. This
ensures that political leaders do not change the
constitution for their own benefit or to remain in power.
 The supremacy of the rule law must be enshrined in
the constitution and be implemented rigorously.
 Problems of using a
constitution
 Those in power may amend the constitution in
order to suit their needs.
 They may also ignore rulings made by the
judiciary if they are not favourable to them.
 The idea of using a constitution is usually
ridiculed by nationalist leaders who view
constitutions as imposed by former colonial
powers.
 A constitution may concentrate too much
power in the office of the president which
results in the president being dominant over
all other organs of the state.
 The use of a constitution may result in hero worshiping as
it becomes difficult to question those in power.
 The use of constitutions in one –party states is not
meaningful as there is no one to check whether it is being
followed or not.
(Constitutional Authoritarianism).
 Constitutions are written using the lawyers’ language
which makes it difficult for the majority to understand.
 The print used is usually small to such an extent that it
discourages people to read.
 The Zimbabwean constitution is written in English. Not
much effort has been put to have the constitution written
in local languages or if this has been done copies are not
easily available to the people who are supposed to use
them.
 Main components of the
Zimbabwe constitution
 The constitution has 18 Chapters.
 It was adopted after a wider consultation
and a referendum voted in favour of the
draft. (Discussion-Did people understand
what they were voting for).
 LET US TURN TO THE ACTUAL DOCUMENT
 NATIONAL IDENTITY
 Define national identity
 Define culture and be able to link it to
culture.
 Identify types and components of culture
 Explain different attitudes to culture.
 Asses challenges to national identity of
Zimbabweans.
 Evaluate whether Zimbabweans have an
identity
 Defining Terms
 The word national is derived from the word
nation which in simple terms means a country.
 Anderson (2003) has defined a nation as an
imagined political community. Why imagined?
Because people never meet or talk about
belonging to one nation but believe they
belong to one nation.
 They have a strong sense of belonging and
comradeship.
 Identity is the characteristics, feelings or
beliefs that distinguish people from others
(Hornby, 2000).
 national identity is about who people of a
nation are.
 But what is that identifies people from
others? People are identified by their
culture.
 culture is constituted by beliefs, values,
behaviour and material objects that
constitute a people’s way of life.
 Giddens (2001) says culture refers to the
ways of life of the members of society or
groups within society which has the
following aspects- dress, marriage
customs and family life, patterns of work,
religious ceremonies, leisure pursuits and
goods created. Robertson (1987) sums up
what culture is by simply saying it is all
the shared products of human society.

 Types of Culture
 Material Culture -physical objects made by
members of society, for example clothes or
cars.
 Non-material culture which are abstract
human creations that not physical, for
example language, beliefs, skills, or rules,
customs, myths, political systems or family
patterns.
 The two are interlinked in that material culture
is a result of non-material culture. Ideas are
the ones that lead to creation of objects which
people make.
 Class Discussion
 Norms
 Taboos
 Values
 Attitude of citizens towards
culture
 The attitude of people towards their culture
determines whether people will keep their
identity or not.(Are You Proud of your
Culture)

 Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge

other cultures by the standards of one’s
own culture. Regarding one’s own culture
as being superior to other cultures. Eg
English is better than Shona. Christianity is
better than Traditional religion.
Positives of being Ethnocentric
 Being ethnocentric has the following
advantages:
 It provides faith and confidence in one’s
own culture.EG Tonga, San and Masaai.
 It helps to reduce influence by foreigners.
 It encourages solidarity and unity among
citizens.
 It enhances a sense of patriotism.
 Citizens who are ethnocentric have the
power to fight for their independence
 Negatives of being
Ethnocentric
 Ethnocentrism has its demerits:
 Citizens may be rigid and dogmatic in the
way they think and behave. Such people
may be unwilling to change.
 Being too ethnocentric may be a source
of hatred and conflict among people.
 Citizens maybe conservative as they do
not want to change their ways even for
something better.
 It also has a tendency to retard
innovative ideas.
 Such people may also be xenophobic,
that is having hostility towards other
cultures or fear of other cultures.
 The citizens may develop an anti-
democratic ideology.
 It may lead to erosion and ultimately
death of a culture.
 Development of own culture is
compromised. For example the
development of the local languages in
Zimbabwe is under threat because we
are not using them in our teaching and
learning.
 Citizens who are xenocentric find it
difficult to be patriotic
 Xenocentrism
 means preference for other cultures. It is
the belief that foreign is better than the
familiar. Citizens prefer other cultures be it
non-material culture or material. For
example citizens preferring to buy blankets
or shoes made in other countries instead of
buying those manufactured in their own
country. Xenocentrism has its own merits:
 Such citizens adapt easily to new culture.
 They accept change.
 They have a tendency to be democratic.
 Cultural Relativism
 Cultural relativism is an understanding
that one culture cannot be judged by the
standard of other cultures.
 Cultures should be looked at in their own
context. This helps citizens of different
countries or people with different cultures
to tolerate each other. People also
respect cultures of other people. But
cultural relativism may make it difficult to
change cultural practices that are bad
and based on wrong ideas.
 It may lead to erosion and ultimately
death of a culture.
 Development of own culture is
compromised. For example the
development of the local languages in
Zimbabwe is under threat because we
are not using them in our teaching and
learning.
 Citizens who are xenocentric find it
difficult to be patriotic
 National Identity
 Identity is the characteristics, feelings or
beliefs that distinguish people from
others (Hornby, 2000).
So, it can therefore be said that national
identity is about who people of a nation are.
People are identified by their culture.
 culture is constituted by beliefs, values,
behaviour and material objects that
constitute a people’s way of life. It refers
to the ways of life of the members of
society or groups within society which
has the following aspects- dress,
marriage customs and family life,
patterns of work, religious ceremonies,
leisure pursuits and goods created.
 DEMOCRACY
 The word democracy is derived from
Greek words ‘kratos’ which means rule or
power and ‘demos’ which means people.
So the Greek word demokratia means
rule by people or the people rule.
democracy refers to a government that
rules with the permission of people.
 Giddens (2001:2001) defines democracy
“as a political system for the participation
of citizens in political decision-making,
often by the election of representatives to
governing bodies.”
 The above definitions show that
democracy has following basic
characteristics: a political system, allows
participation of citizens, citizens vote to
elect representatives and citizens have
final authority.
 Types of democracy

 Direct democracy
 This is when every citizen participates in
government. It is the type of democracy
in which the people make decisions about
what the government will do. It works
well in small communities like in ancient
Athens where almost everyone
participated in government when they
met
 Indirect democracy
 This is when people elect other citizens
among them to represent them. The
chosen representatives make decisions
on behalf of people. The people do not
directly participate in government but are
represented by elected members of
parliament. It is also referred to as
representative democracy.
 When people are not happy about the
performance of their representatives they
may vote them out during elections.
 Liberal democracy
 This is similar to indirect democracy but
there many aspects that are considered
in addition to representatives. It is a form
of electoral democracy with regular
elections being the core element in
choosing representatives.
 It is based on checks and balances
through the promotion and use of a
parliamentary system, an independent
judiciary, constitution and a visible civil
society. Civil society acts like a watchdog
on the activities of government by
pointing out mistakes and excesses of the
executive, the legislature and the
judiciary.
 Other characteristics of liberal democracy
include property rights, bill of rights, civil
liberties, respect for political equality, the
principle of one person one vote, equal
voting rights and accountable politicians
 Critics of liberal democracy

 Liberal democracy has its critics although

it is popular.
 Elitists believe power should be
concentrated in the hands of the elitists.
An elite is a group of people in a society
who are powerful and have a lot of
influence because they are rich,
intelligent (etc.) The elitists are of the
opinion that liberal democracy is utopia
as it does not exist.
 Marxists say liberal democracy is
capitalist and bourgeois oriented. The
system is manipulated by the capitalists
for their own benefit.
 Radical democrats say liberal democracy
is façade democracy. People never rule
but are ruled by self-serving politicians.
The general public suffers from inertia,
apathy and breakdown of community so
they are not united to actually rule.
 Positives of democracy
 It protects the individual from too
powerful governments who may deprive
them of their property, freedom,
happiness, interests or value.
 It allows people to make their own laws
to improve their freedom and
independence.
 It creates a sense of solidarity in a
community.
 It is egalitarian in nature.
 Negatives of democracy
 Ordinary members of society are not
competent to rule. Only certain people
have the ability to rule. So there is a class
that rules and a class that is ruled.
 Democracy is an enemy of individual
liberty as it is characterised by the rule of
majority so individual rights and opinions
are opposed or ignored. This is why
people have said majority rule is also the
rule of the tyranny as minority rights are
trampled on.
 By placing power in the hands of
representatives it actually places power in
the hands of a few individuals deemed able
to rule.
 Democracy may result in uncontrolled
appetites of the masses (majority) which is
sometimes brutal and violent, for example
what happened during the French Revolution.
This may also be referred to as totalitarian
democracy which is characterised by rallies,
marches, demonstrations and other forms of
political agitation.
 The fight for democracy may lead to
division in society and civil wars as
people fight for power.
 Elections, which are an important feature
of democracy, may bring about a
continuous change of governments that
has a negative impact on economic and
social development
 Dictatorship.
 Giddens (2001) defines dictatorship as a system of government
that denies or severely curtails popular participation. Fraenkel
and Kane (1983) define dictatorship as a type of government in
which all the power is held by one person or a small group of
persons. It is a form of government in which the ruler is an
absolute dictator (Online dictionary (2006). Giddens (2001)
defines dictatorship as a system of government that denies or
severely curtails popular participation. Fraenkel and Kane (1983)
define dictatorship as a type of government in which all the
power is held by one person or a small group of persons. It is a
form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator
(Online dictionary (2006). A dictator is a ruler with absolute
power and authority which are not restricted by a constitution,
laws or any opposition
 Dictatorship is also referred to as absolutism, authoritarianism,
Caesarism, despotism, monocracy, one-man shogunate,
Stalinism, totalitarianism or tyranny.
 Giddens (2001) defines dictatorship as a system of
government that denies or severely curtails
popular participation. Fraenkel and Kane (1983)
define dictatorship as a type of government in
which all the power is held by one person or a
small group of persons. It is a form of government
in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (Online
dictionary (2006). A dictator is a ruler with
absolute power and authority which are not
restricted by a constitution, laws or any opposition
 Dictatorship is also referred to as absolutism,
authoritarianism, Caesarism, despotism,
monocracy, Stalinism, totalitarianism or tyranny.
 How dictators achieve
power
 Elections
 Initially they come to power by use of
democratic elections but once in power
they ban opposition parties or make it
difficult for them to operate or exist.
Elections are banned or when they are
held they are manipulated in their favour.
Such elections are not free..
 A lot of intimidation, coercion and
emotional zeal are used on the electorate
so that most citizens go and vote for the
dictator in order to achieve very high
voter turn-out as a show off to the
outside world.
 Appointment
 The may be appointed by ruling party
congress after the death or removal of
the previous leader.
 Once in power they consolidate their
positions by appointing relatives and
friends to key positions so that it
becomes difficult to remove them.
Potential adversaries within the party are
sidelined, removed from the party or
ultimately killed in unclear
circumstances.
 Inheritance
 Dictators may pass on power to a son,
brother or relative who they groom for
leadership when they are still strong. This
becomes family dictatorship akin to
monarchy. They usually do this in order to
protect themselves and their property
from possible revenge and trials for
wrongs done during their leadership.
 Coup d’etat
 Military commanders or officers seize
power in a coup d’etat from a democratic
elected leader. Once in position such a
leader may suspend the use of a
constitution and ban the legislature and
get all power in his hands..
 After consolidation of power they then
use elections to make themselves
legitimate and appease the outside
world. But elections will not be free and
fair so that the results are manipulated in
their favour. Most government posts are
militarized to ensure that there is less
opposition.
Some features of dictatorships
 Power: The leaders wield a lot of power in almost
every sphere of society. People are gradually
socialized to believe that such power is
necessary and can not be questioned. Thus there
is a creation of ‘chefdom’ so that whatever the
leader says is right and unquestionable.
 Intolerance: Dictators do not tolerate opposition
parties so they usually operate in a single party
system or prefer very weak opposition parties
who rarely challenge them during elections and
create some resemblance of an opposition to
make elections legitimate.
 Use of force: Dictators do not hesitate to
use force to silence those opposed to
them. The army, police and other security
units are used to protect mainly the
interests of a party and not the state. In
order to appease these groups dictators
give them a lot of favours at the expense
of other civil servants. Opposition leaders
or individual opponents disappear.
 Scapegoats: If the country has problems,
be there political or economic, dictators
blame foreign countries or other
organizations. They see a link between
opposition leaders and foreign influence
and how these are creating all the
problems in a country.