Loyalties in Flux

Institutional politics have become increasingly market oriented, consensual and therapeutic. The emerging form of political governance relies on consensual expertise and paternal care rather than on political differences and ideologies. These changes have an impact on the ways in which citizenship is defined and articulated. The classical ideals of an active polis citizenship (i.e. the ideas of dialogue, joint political action and political process) seem to be losing momentum. In particular, state-bound citizenship is losing its ability to provide the means for meaningful political action and identities. Instead, citizenship is to an increasing extent defined by market-oriented discourses and institutions, which are constructing identities and governance overlapped by traditional political citizenship. It is suggested that cultural studies could consider the cultural changes at the heart of political and economic power in order to understand the changing discourses of citizenship.