Hosted by the LSE International Inequalities Institute on Tuesday 17 May.

Speaker: Dr Kristin Surak, Faculty Associate, LSE III and Assistant Professor in Sociology, Department of Sociology, LSE

Chair: Professor Mike Savage, Martin White Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology and Convenor Cities, Jobs and Economic Change Research Theme, LSE III

Citizenship is often seen as a sacred bond between sovereign and subject, a key locus of identity in the modern world. Yet over the past ten years, several small countries have begun to sell it outright – and for remarkable sums – through formal, government-run programs. Yet why would anyone want to put down $2 million for membership in a microstate? We may think of citizenship as fundamentally about rights and identity, but for many, citizenship is a ticket. It’s not about the privileges it secures within the granting state, but those it brings rights outside it, usually in visa-free travel, business opportunities, and sometimes residence option in other countries. The result gives powerful third countries considerable sway over the value of what is at heart a sovereign prerogative. It also makes for a rollercoaster of a market in citizenship, for not only politics but – more often than not – geopolitics determines its dynamics. Drawing on five years of fieldwork in sixteen countries on four continents, this talk traces the emergence and operation of this intriguing global scene.