Representations of Citizenship in Public Services: Recognition, Merit and Autonomy

Abstract

Considering the variables of nationality, generation and social class, the article
analyzes representations of citizenship within the sphere of public services.
By combining three logics — that of recognition, that of autonomy and that of
merit —, discourses break the essence of the classical notion of citizenship
by modulating different accounts of practices and experiences regarding what
it means to be a citizen. Through the analysis of the discourses produced
from different social conditions in focus groups, it is possible to understand
the main elements of value associated with the concept of citizenship. The
progress of strategies t hat reward individual merit supersedes the logic of
universal recognition, with important effects on the most vulnerable groups.