The concept of citizenship has been central to political thinking throughout history. It has been used both to establish and maintain political communities and to encourage political action; to denote merely judicial responsibilities as well as calling for active political participation.

Today, the concept of the citizen is undergoing a revival in contemporary political theory and in programmes for political action throughout the world. With over fifty carefully selected extracts from the works of writers as diverse as Aristotle and Augustine, Rousseau and Kant, Marx and Jefferson, this reader offers examples of the many uses and applications of the idea of the citizen and of citizenship.