This book offers a socio-legal enquiry into the position of Roma as citizens in Europe. Rather than questioning the exceptionalities of Roma as a minority, it seeks to understand how citizenship in liberal democracies is constructed to marginalize certain minorities.

Introduction: Strangers among citizens1 Visible minorities, invisible citizens 2 Irregularised citizenship, free movement and territorialities3 Citizens in the making and the inequality of opportunity: School segregation of Romani children4 Minority statelessness and racialised citizenship: Total infringement of citizenship5 Out of ignorance and despair: Sabotage as a citizenship enactment at the fringesConclusion: Reflecting on citizenship from the fringeIndex

According to numerous scholars and policymakers, Roma are the most disadvantaged ethnic minority in Europe. But while the predicament of Roma has often been discussed, it is invariably seen as an unfortunate anomaly in otherwise inclusive liberal democratic states. The fringes of citizenship offers a novel socio-legal enquiry into the position of Roma as marginalised citizens, using the perspective of global citizenship studies. It argues that while the Romani minorities in Europe are unique, the forms of civic marginalisation they face are not. States around the globe have applied similar legislation and policies that made traditionally settled minorities marginalised. The book examines topics such as free movement and migration, statelessness and school segregation, as well as how minorities themselves respond to marginalisation. It shows how minorities can have a wide spectrum of ‘multicultural rights’ and still face racism and significant human rights violations. To understand this paradox, the book offers new theoretical concepts, such as the ‘invisible edges’ of citizenship and ‘citizenship fringes’. The fringes of citizenship will be of interest to students and scholars of citizenship, migration, ethnic and racial studies. It also contains much that will be of value to policymakers dealing with human and minority rights, as well as to general readers eager to understand the position of Roma as citizens.

Recipient of the ASN Harriman Rotschild Book Prize Honorable Mention 2022'This excellent and engaging text seeks to open up a new discussion about the failure of Roma ‘integration’ and the persistent violation of Roma rights on the part of nation-states. It adopts an explicit socio-legal perspective and acknowledges the crucial role of widespread anti-Roma racism in maintaining Roma marginality and ensuring their positioning at the ‘fringes of citizenship’ [...] In doing so it moves us further toward a more reality-congruent orientation in understanding Roma and non-Roma relations.'Ryan Powell, Housing Studies'The book is a must-read for scholars, practitioners as well as students dealing with marginalized communities and citizenship studies, as it provides a new and interesting angle and a new perspective in the field of citizenship studies.'Sophie Schonthaler, European Yearbook of Minority Issues