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June 21, 2022
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October 5, 2022
Published
December 1, 2022
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Abstract

Numerous examples in history show how the politicization of citizenship and invocation of cultural standards were used as an argument for the marginalization of certain groups. With that in mind, this article analyses the 1915 discussion about French colonial policy and republicanism provoked by the Minister of War’s proposal to grant French citizenship to Muslim soldiers as a reward for their sacrifice for France. Although the proposal was rejected, the discussion revealed a complex relationship between citizenship, culture, and politics. The article maintains that citizenship was treated as an element of cultural identity and that its concept was born in a specific historical context, which was imperial domination over colonial people. This is confirmed by the fact that the positions of supporters of soldiers’ naturalization based on recognition of the soldiers’ cultural identity and opponents who called for their cultural assimilation were very similar and differed in the sequence of events; both opted for acculturation of the newcomers as the final step of naturalization. The discussion proves that culture in the relationship with citizenship means more than pluralism and that citizenship in the relationship with culture grows beyond the institutional dimension.

Keywords

citizenship culture France Third Republic Muslim soldiers Great War naturalization colonialism citizenship culture France Third Republic Muslim soldiers Great War naturalization colonialism

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Zdanowski, J. (2022). Citizenship, Culture, and Politics: The Discussion on the Naturalization of Muslim Soldiers in the French Army during the Great War (1914-1918). INSTED: Interdisciplinary Studies in Education & Society, 24(2(92), 103–118. https://doi.org/10.34862/tce/2022/11/30/ak1t-at63
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