Revision required: Reconciling New Zealand citizenship with Maori nationalisms

Author: Humpage Louise  

Publisher: Routledge Ltd

ISSN: 1469-9907

Source: National Identities, Vol.10, Iss.3, 2008-09, pp. : 247-261

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Abstract

Governments in settler societies conventionally have regarded the incorporation of indigenous peoples into the equal rights of citizenship as an appropriate response to indigenous calls for justice. Yet, the state nation-building agendas behind citizenship sit in tension with indigenous nationalisms, which reflect an alternative form of nation-building not framed by the state. This article first identifies four major 'citizenship regimes' in New Zealand's history, noting that symbolic recognition of Maori nationalisms has been made without addressing the fundamental conflation of 'nation' and 'state'. It then explores possible directions for revisioning New Zealand citizenship to overcome these historical limitations.