Arenas of citizenship

Traditional conceptions of citizenship have privileged individuals' relationships to the state. However, recent emphasis on civil society as a terrain of democratic empowerment suggests a shift in our ideas about what citizens properly do and the arenas in which they do it. I argue that it would be a mistake to privilege activism in civil society over traditional state-centered political activity and I contend that democratic citizenship may - and must - be performed in multiple arenas. Feminists need enriched understandings of citizenship that recognize the indispensability of both national and transnational civil society but still maintain a strong focus on the state.