Abstract

The ability to acquire and retain dual citizenship has become increasingly accepted among states worldwide over the last several decades, and this has resulted in a significant expansion of the number of people who acquire dual or multiple citizenships at birth. While dual citizenship is regarded as a status that at once enables migrant integration into the host state and the maintenance of cultural and familial ties with the country of origin, the extent to which this is relevant to subsequent generations remains unknown. It is also not known to what extent dual citizenship status inspires transnational mobility for the second generation. Applying citizenship and transnational theoretical and conceptual approaches, in this thesis I examine what dual citizenship can mean to second generation Canadians who also hold the European citizenships of their parents, primarily focusing on southern and former Soviet bloc states that are members of the European Union. I investigate life stories and family migration histories and describe the ways in which individualized notions of national and cultural identity are formed through the relationships fostered within local and transnational familial and social networks. In addition, this form of dual citizenship implies that the second generation have access and membership to not only their family’s country of origin, but also to other states within the European Union. Within this context, I demonstrate how contemporary global capitalism adds an instrumental dimension to dual citizenship as the second generation consider key life decisions such as residence, education, and career trajectories, and whether to embark on mobility to achieve these goals.