POSTCOLCIT · Postcolonial Perspectives on Citizenship and Belonging in Former European Colonial Powers

Decades after decolonisation, uncertainties surrounding the possession of the former colonial power’s nationality and struggles for citizenship rights among postcolonial migrants and their descendants remain pressing issues in Europe. Sitting at the crossroads between citizenship and migration studies, colonial and postcolonial history and legal consciousness studies, POSTCOLCIT breaks new ground as the first comprehensive, comparative and longitudinal study exploring the relationships between former European colonial powers and colonised populations through the lens of citizenship. This project investigates the evolving attitudes towards nationality among postcolonial immigrants and their descendants, theorising the factors shaping their legal consciousness and claims-making practices. Building on an innovative mixed-methods approach spanning five major former European colonial powers (Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the UK) and focusing on specific postcolonial communities, the project will: (1) revisit the reconfigurations of nationality and immigration laws since decolonisation, unpacking how these have impacted the rights of postcolonial migrants and their descendants, and the desirability of nationality in former colonial powers; (2) assess the ways in which former colonial subjects and their descendants have contested, negotiated, or reclaimed their citizenship status in the postcolonial metropole, both individually and collectively; (3) analyse how public authorities and legal intermediaries within former colonial powers respond to citizenship claims from postcolonial immigrants and descendants. This approach will provide novel insights into the complex articulations between legal statuses, rights-claiming practices and feelings of belonging in former European metropoles, advancing our understanding of the long-lasting impact of citizenship legislations in shaping patterns of inclusion and exclusion long after the end of formal colonial rule.