Exclusion, Failure, and the Politics of Citizenship

This paper examines how contemporary liberal democratic states construct citizenship through intertwined logics of exclusion and failure. Bridget Anderson argues that debates about migration are not simply about legal status or economic impact, but about moral judgments that define a “community of value.” Migrants are positioned as outsiders who threaten this community, while certain citizens are cast as “Failed Citizens” who fall short of national ideals of productivity, self-sufficiency, and respectability. Drawing on examples from immigration policy, welfare discourse, and public debate, the paper shows how migrants and marginalized citizens are pitted against one another through narratives of deservingness, work ethic, and cultural belonging. Anderson challenges efforts to defend migrants by appealing to their conformity to dominant norms, arguing instead for a broader political approach that questions the very standards used to rank worth, belonging, and entitlement within contemporary citizenship regimes.