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ABSTRACT
The quote in the title from a newly naturalised citizen emphasises that taking an oath and affirming one’s loyalty to a new country can be experienced as a surprisingly emotional matter. But how does the ritual transformation of migrant identities turn into an emotional experience? This paper explores primarily the emotional dimension of naturalisation rituals and the distributed agency involved in two concrete cases from Australia and Denmark. Although practical reasons may be considered to be the most important motivating factor when it comes to applying for citizenship, these are often mixed with a more identity-based perception of citizenship as a symbol of affiliation with the new society. And citizenship ceremonies become one of the occasions in which the symbolic and emotional dimensions of citizenship are enacted. Thus, the introduction of ceremonies in an increasing number of countries may be considered a step towards the emotionalisation of citizenship, in order to ensure cohesion, unity, and a sense of belonging, since the emotional significance of citizenship is considered to be a guarantee for loyalty and the desired civil awareness.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 What it means to be Australian, Danish, etc. forms, in itself, a complex, ongoing, and contested discussion in the countries in question. These discourses on national identity are highly relevant contexts for understanding the ceremonies. Nevertheless, a thorough examination of these discourses would exceed the format of this article.
2 I have conducted ethnographic fieldwork at ceremonies in Sydney, Australia, January 2007; in London 2006 and 2007; in Lund and Stockholm; Sweden in June 2006 and 2007; in Oslo, Norway, in December 2006; in New York, U.S., in July 2009; and in Copenhagen Town Hall 2006, and at the Danish parliament’s ‘Citizenship Day’ in 2006, 2007, 2011, and 2012. All interviews with new citizens have been conducted right after the ritual during the more informal parts of the ceremonies.
3 For a more elaborated study of emotions within a performative understanding, see also Damsholt (Citation2015).
4 One example of this is the Danish ‘naturalisation test’, which was introduced in Denmark in the spring of 2007.
5 That is, the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark.
6 I did not have the chance to interview them all, but (as in the quotes to be presented) new citizens with a background in commonwealth countries were dominating the group.
7 The first national ‘Citizenship Day’ was held in the Danish parliament, Christiansborg, in March 2006 and has been repeated on an appropriate spring Sunday every year since then. In 2006, around 7000 new citizens were invited and about 1400 participated with a companion of their own choice.
8 The poem ‘Global citizen in Denmark/Verdensborger i Danmark’ by Benny Andersen.
9 The Cartoon Crisis, in which ironic drawings of the Prophet Mohammed printed in a Danish newspaper, led to protest demonstrations, the burning of flags and embassy buildings around the world, and a heated debate in the Danish media.
10 John Law defines the ‘manifest absent’ ‘as the necessary Other to presence, which is enacted along with the latter, is constituted with it, and helps to constitute it’ (Law Citation2004, 157).
11 ‘Det Radikale Venstre’, one of the most immigrant-friendly parties in Denmark.
12 At the Danish citizenship days I attended in 2010 and 2012, national flags were handed out to all the participants, just as is the case in Stockholm, Sweden.
13 At least that was the case in Lund 2006 and in Stockholm 2007.
14 However, the overall impression is similar at the obligatory ceremonies in England and Australia where I conducted fieldwork.
15 As is also the case in Amsterdam (Byrne Citation2014, 173).
16 For example, the discussion of Yurchak’s insights in Verkaaik (Citation2010, 77).