The Sovrien:
An Exploration of the Right to Be Stateless
Clark Hanjian
Book, 283 pages (Polyspire 2003)
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Abstract
The pacifist, the anarchist, and the cosmopolitan all struggle with the demands of citizenship. Their hopes – for tolerance, nonviolent social change, and a society ordered by personal responsibility – are routinely dashed by civic obligations to support militarism, parochialism, and a society ordered by threat of force. Fortunately for these idealists, the institution of citizenship is under review. Alternatives such as global citizenship and post-national citizenship are enjoying renewed attention. Of particular interest is the option of statelessness.
To be stateless is to be a citizen of no country, a subject of no government, a member of no state. Statelessness exists in two forms. The unintentionally stateless person lacks citizenship status against her will. She is an alien in search of a state. The intentionally stateless person lacks citizenship status on purpose. She elects to be both sovereign and alien – she is a “sovrien.” While scholars and jurists have extensively examined unintentional statelessness, they have all but ignored its counterpart. The Sovrien explores this void and considers the possibility that one might choose to live as a citizen of no country.
The Sovrien proposes that the choice to be stateless is a legitimate and reasonable option. This work examines: the arguments for and against the existence of a right to be stateless, the advantages and disadvantages of being a sovrien, the process of exercising one’s right to be stateless, government attempts to restrict the right to be stateless, and the rights and responsibilities of sovriens.
Clark Hanjian
Clark Hanjian renounced his US citizenship in 1985 and has remained stateless since that time.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. Introduction
Overview
What is Statelessness?
How Statelessness Occurs
The Right to Expatriate
Intentional versus Unintentional Statelessness
The Sovrien
2. Arguments in Defense of the Right to Be Stateless
The Fundamental Human Right Argument
The Consent Argument
3. Advantages of Being a Sovrien
Integrity
Adventure
Political Freedom
Formal Neutrality
Social Transformation
4. Arguments Against the Right to Be Stateless
The Competing Right to Social Order
The Competing Right to Territorial Sovereignty
The Competing Right to Establish and Operate States
The Moral Obligation to Submit to the Authority of the State
The Moral Obligation to Support One’s Community
The Moral Obligation to Avoid Self-Threatening Situations
5. Disadvantages of Being a Sovrien
No Government Protection of Human Rights
No Government Assistance
Government Interference
Discrimination
Difficulty Maintaining a Permanent Residence
Difficulty in International Travel
Permanence of Status
6. Exercising the Right to Be Stateless
The Choice to Be Stateless
Voluntary Action
Knowing Action
Intentional Action
Public Expression
7. Restrictions on the Right to Be Stateless
Age and Mental Competence
Official Permission
Bureaucratic Form
Wartime Restrictions
Denationalization
Subsequent Citizenship
Banishment
Imprisonment, Torture, and Execution
Nonrecognition
8. Rights of the Sovrien
Fundamental Human Rights
The Legal Rights Which Attach to Citizenship
The Legal Rights Which a State Extends to Aliens
Exclusive Rights
9. Responsibilities of the Sovrien
The Legal Responsibilities Which Attach to Citizenship
Fundamental Human Responsibilities
Exclusive Responsibilities
10. Conclusion
Summary
Suggestions
Appendix
Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954)
Bibliography
Index