Liberia: “Push-back Against Dual Citizenship Is Due to Inequality”
Published: 21/Dec/2021
Source: Liberian Observer (Monrovia)
… Says a Liberian Scholar
By David S. Menjor and J. Burgess Carter
Acclaimed Liberian scholar Dr. Robtel Neajai Pailey has disclosed that public backlash against dual citizenship stems from socio-economic inequalities in Liberia.
Dr. Pailey, an Assistant Professor in International Social and Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), was invited by the Liberian Senate on 14 December 2021 to present the findings and policy recommendations of her recently published book, Development, (Dual) Citizenship and Its Discontents in Africa: The Political Economy of Belonging to Liberia.
She argued that reducing inequalities would minimize the fears of Liberians at home, who, she said, “view dual citizenship as a zero-sum, infringing upon their already limited access to political, economic and social rights.”
Dr. Pailey acknowledged that many Liberians abroad want to be able to keep their Liberian citizenship by birth and ancestry because they have helped to keep the country afloat during times of war and peace. “Liberian diasporas have been important political, economic and social actors—sending remittances, lobbying for the cessation of war, investing in productive sectors such as real estate and agriculture, etc.”, she said.
Read further: https://www.liberianobserver.com/liberia-push-back-against-dual-citizenship-due-inequality