Why has Liberia not enacted dual citizenship or repealed a constitutional ‘Negro clause’?<\/p>\n
by Robtel Neajai Pailey<\/p>\n
It has been exactly one year since newly\u00a0inaugurated\u00a0Liberian President George Manneh Weah sparked controversy by\u00a0declaring\u00a0staunch support for enacting dual citizenship and repealing a constitutional \u00ab\u00a0Negro clause\u00a0\u00bb, which prohibits non-blacks from obtaining citizenship by birth, ancestry or naturalisation.<\/p>\n
Although the\u00a0footballer-turned-president acknowledged the historical preoccupations of\u00a0Liberia’s settlers who fled 19th century economic servitude in the United States and the Caribbean, he claimed that upholding the \u00ab\u00a0Negro clause\u00a0\u00bb and prohibiting dual citizenship would impinge upon the country’s 21st century post-war progress and prosperity, especially given the vital development contributions by Liberians abroad.<\/p>\n
Yet, my research on how Liberians view\u00a0citizenship\u00a0in general and\u00a0dual citizenship\u00a0in particular – based on over 200 interviews in cities in West Africa, Europe, and\u00a0North America\u00a0– shows that the laws remain unchanged because objections to amendments are deeply socioeconomic in nature, and cannot be simply wished away by presidential proclamations. Liberians experience citizenship differently based on their socioeconomic status, gender and ethnicity, and this largely influences whether they reject or accept dual citizenship and the \u00ab\u00a0Negro clause\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n