The concept of citizenship is central to a wide number of debates in the social sciences: juridicial (the rights and obligations of the state), political philosophy and the law (because it defines the nature of expectations relating to social contract) and questions relating to freedom, equality and rights. These two volumes provide scholars with a comprehensive guide to the concept. It outlines the history of citizenship and traces its application in various debates within the social sciences.

Bryan Turner is Professor of Sociology at the University of Cambridge. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the leading sociologists in the English-speaking world. He is the author or co-author of no less than 30 books, the most recent of which have been Theories of Modernity and Postmodernity (Sage 1992) and Regulating Bodies (Routledge 1992).