The Business of Citizenship: Investment Citizenship Firms in Global Governance
Kalm, Sara LU
(2023)
In Global Society
37(1).
p.68-92
- Abstract
- Since the 2008 financial crisis, more and more states have started to “sell” citizenships and residence permits to the global economic elite in return for investments. This trade is mediated by transnational firms in the investment citizenship industry, who help governments design and reform the programmes, and assist the wealthy in applying for them. The objective of this article is to explore the activities of these firms, that until now have been largely neglected in research. In order to understand their agency and the forms of power that they are able to exert, this article engages IR theory and sociological network theory on intermediaries. It is argued that investment citizenship firms take on two different intermediary roles at the... (More)
- Since the 2008 financial crisis, more and more states have started to “sell” citizenships and residence permits to the global economic elite in return for investments. This trade is mediated by transnational firms in the investment citizenship industry, who help governments design and reform the programmes, and assist the wealthy in applying for them. The objective of this article is to explore the activities of these firms, that until now have been largely neglected in research. In order to understand their agency and the forms of power that they are able to exert, this article engages IR theory and sociological network theory on intermediaries. It is argued that investment citizenship firms take on two different intermediary roles at the same time, as regulatory intermediary and as broker. The article finds that the firms are sometimes able to amount a considerable power vis-à-vis state actors; and that they also contribute to the decoupling of the global elite from ties to precise localities, in the process also transforming the purpose of statehood. The investment citizenship firms are hence consequential actors in global governance, and their activities merit more research attention.
(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/37ef032a-aa9a-4dfe-9fa3-f4ca2be7a5bc
- author
- Kalm, Sara
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- citizenship, residence, investment citizenship, global governance, global elite
- in
- Global Society
- volume
- 37
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 68 - 92
- publisher
- Journal of Interdisciplinary International Relations
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85122889458
- ISSN
- 1360-0826
- DOI
- 10.1080/13600826.2021.2021863
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 37ef032a-aa9a-4dfe-9fa3-f4ca2be7a5bc
- date added to LUP
- 2022-01-17 16:21:04
- date last changed
- 2023-01-16 10:18:07
@article{37ef032a-aa9a-4dfe-9fa3-f4ca2be7a5bc,
abstract = {{Since the 2008 financial crisis, more and more states have started to “sell” citizenships and residence permits to the global economic elite in return for investments. This trade is mediated by transnational firms in the investment citizenship industry, who help governments design and reform the programmes, and assist the wealthy in applying for them. The objective of this article is to explore the activities of these firms, that until now have been largely neglected in research. In order to understand their agency and the forms of power that they are able to exert, this article engages IR theory and sociological network theory on intermediaries. It is argued that investment citizenship firms take on two different intermediary roles at the same time, as regulatory intermediary and as broker. The article finds that the firms are sometimes able to amount a considerable power vis-à-vis state actors; and that they also contribute to the decoupling of the global elite from ties to precise localities, in the process also transforming the purpose of statehood. The investment citizenship firms are hence consequential actors in global governance, and their activities merit more research attention.<br/><br/>}},
author = {{Kalm, Sara}},
issn = {{1360-0826}},
keywords = {{citizenship; residence; investment citizenship; global governance; global elite}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{68--92}},
publisher = {{Journal of Interdisciplinary International Relations}},
series = {{Global Society}},
title = {{The Business of Citizenship: Investment Citizenship Firms in Global Governance}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13600826.2021.2021863}},
doi = {{10.1080/13600826.2021.2021863}},
volume = {{37}},
year = {{2023}},
}