Confucian Nei-Wai citizenship

This paper engages in what has been called “rooted global philosophy” to articulate a distinctive conception of citizenship that I label “Confucian nei-wai citizenship.” I begin with the interdependence between nei (inner) and wai (outer) in two contexts: inside and outside the body, and inside and outside the family. These links between nei and wai lead to an understanding of citizenship that is not predicated on a sharp dichotomy between public and private. Indeed, modern Confucians should not see citizenship as only taking place in political or public contexts. I show how the Confucian tradition can be refracted through the lens of four key characteristics of citizenship—membership, participation, integration, and legal status—to produce a conception that opens new space for contemporary Confucian theorizing and offers food for thought to citizenship theorists more generally.