{"id":130971,"date":"2019-02-05T02:47:42","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T00:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/what-a-constitutional-clause-reveals-about-liberians-ideas-of-citizenship-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2019-02-05T02:47:42","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T00:47:42","slug":"what-a-constitutional-clause-reveals-about-liberians-ideas-of-citizenship-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/what-a-constitutional-clause-reveals-about-liberians-ideas-of-citizenship-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"What a constitutional clause reveals about Liberians’ ideas of citizenship | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

What a constitutional clause reveals about Liberians’ ideas of citizenship<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Liberia's President George Weah has ruffled feathers by proposing changes to citizenship laws.<\/span> EPA-EFE\/AHMED JALLANZO<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1973 Liberia introduced its Aliens and Nationality Law. This, and the country\u2019s 1986 Constitution, allow only people of \u201cNegro descent\u201d \u2013 those who are black \u2013 to obtain Liberian citizenship by birth, ancestry or naturalisation. The 1973 law also banned dual citizenship.<\/p>\n

Many Liberians at home and abroad have questioned the citizenship regulations. But historical and contemporary developments explain why the laws are seen by some as \u201cprotectionary\u201d. They are viewed as guarding Liberians against any kind of foreign domination.<\/p>\n

What has become locally known as the \u201cNegro clause\u201d was driven by free blacks and manumitted slaves who fled 19th century racism and economic servitude in the US and the Caribbean. They established Liberia as a haven where they would be the sole owners of capital, land and the means of production.<\/p>\n

Other countries \u2013 among them Chad, Malawi and Mali \u2013 historically restricted citizenship to people of \u201cAfrican origin\u201d or \u201cAfrican race\u201d. But those laws have been scrapped over time. Liberia is one of two countries in Africa that have maintained the \u201cNegro clause\u201d. Sierra Leone is the other. There, however, so-called non-\u201cNegros\u201d can naturalise. Liberia is also one of only eight countries on the continent that ban dual citizenship.<\/p>\n

Liberian President George Manneh Weah has suggested it\u2019s time to amend the laws. He believes the current citizenship regulations are unnecessarily \u201cracist\u201d and restrictive. He also argues that upholding them would hinder Liberia\u2019s progress and prosperity, especially after its long, devastating armed conflicts.<\/p>\n

My research on how Liberians view citizenship in general and dual citizenship in particular suggests that Weah won\u2019t easily get his way. <\/p>\n

Ideas about citizenship<\/h2>\n

My research involved interviewing more than 200 people who identified as Liberians by birth or ancestry, regardless of their citizenship status. They were based in cities in West Africa, Europe and North America. <\/p>\n

The findings suggest that Liberians experience citizenship differently based on their class, gender and ethnicity. These factors greatly influence whether they reject or accept dual citizenship and the \u201cNegro clause\u201d. <\/p>\n

For example, I found that poor Liberian-based Liberians were more opposed to abolishing the \u201cNegro clause\u201d and adopting dual citizenship than their better-off diaspora counterparts. They are worried that amendments to the citizenship laws would infringe upon their own already limited rights. <\/p>\n

My findings echo the stance of Liberian delegates at a 2015 conference held in the country. They were invited by a committee set up in 2012 to review and make recommendations for amending the 1986 Constitution based on a series of national consultations with citizens. They vetoed the enactment of dual citizenship and removal of the \u201cNegro clause\u201d. Survey data from 2018 generated by Afrobarometer also shows that two-thirds of Liberians are pro-\u201cNegro clause\u201d and anti-dual citizenship. <\/p>\n

Why is this the case?<\/p>\n

My previous and ongoing research offer four key reasons. These are:<\/p>\n