Nationality vs Citizenship

]Nationality and citizenship are two terms that are sometimes used interchangeably. Some people even
use the two words ‘“ citizenship and nationality — as synonyms. But this is not true and they differ in
many aspects.
First of all let’s see what nationality means. In simple words, nationality can be applied to the country
where an individual was born. Then what does citizenship stands for? It is a legal status, which means
that an individual has been registered with the government in some country.
An individual is a national of a particular country by birth. Nationality is got through inheritance from his
parents or it be called a natural phenomenon. On the other hand an individual becomes a citizen of a
country only when he is accepted into that country’s political framework through legal terms.
Elaborating the two words, an individual born in India, will be having Indian Nationality. But he may have
an American citizenship once he has registered with that country.
Well, No one will be able to change his nationality but one can have different citizenship. An Indian can
have an American or Canadian citizenship but he cannot change his nationality. Another example is that
people of the European Union may have European Union Citizenship but that person’s nationality does
not change.
Coming to citizenship, some nations also confer honorary citizenship to individuals. But no country can
confer honorary nationality on any one as his birthplace cannot be changed.
Nationality can be described as a term that refers to belonging to a group having same culture,
traditions history, language and other general similarities. On the other hand, citizenship may not refer
to people of the same group. For example, an Indian and may be having a US citizenship but he will not
be belonging to the same group as that of the American nationals.
Summary
1. Nationality can be applied to the country where an individual has been born. Citizenship is a legal
status, which means that an individual has been registered with the government in some country.
2. Nationality is got through inheritance from his parents or it be called a natural phenomenon. On the
other hand an individual becomes a citizen of a country only when he is accepted into that country’s
political framework through legal terms.
3. No one will be able to change his nationality but one can have different citizenship.

I had been wondering for some time whether there was a clear distinction between these two concepts,
so I search the Web to find the answer. It seems that for many people (and me until recently), the two
words are synonymous.

However, from what I gathered in comparing various sources, nationality gives the right to live and work
permanently in a country, and includes other rights, such as the right to have a passport issued by that
country, the right of abode in that country's embassies, right of social security, right to exercise some
legal or political professions (e.g magistrate, president of the country). Nationality may also include
obligations, such as military service.

By contrast, citizenship in itself does not give the right to live in a country (a visa or nationality is
required for that), but only to vote at elections (sometimes also the right to be elected). Citizenship can
be national (=nationwide), subnational (only in one state, region, province or municipality), or
supranational (valid in several countries, like within the EU or Commonwealth).

There are some cases of nationality without citizenship. For instance, until recently, people naturalised
French could not vote for the first 5 or 10 years after taking the French nationality.
But there are also cases of citizenship without nationality, which is much more common. For instance,
foreigners in the Benelux, the 5 Nordic countries, some Swiss cantons, Portugal and New Zealand have
the right to vote at some or all elections, and in some cases to be elected too. Nationals of
Commonwealth countries living in the UK can aslo vote and be elected in the UK.

In Japan, I think that only one town so far (in Shiga prefecture ?) has given the right to vote (but not to
be elected) to permanent residents (only) at municipal elections (only). So 99.99% of foreigners in Japan
do not have citizenship rights at all.

Nationals of EU member-states all enjoy the rights given by nationality and citizenship in other EU
countries, with some restrictions. Citizenship rights are limited to EU and local elections, and nationality
rights do not include the right of social security (but many non-EU countries don't have any, anyway) or
the obligation of military service (a good thing!).

Government and governance are two words that sound similar but are different in meaning. Difference
between government and governance is confusing for many people, and this article intends to clarify the
meaning and definition of the two words so as to leave no scope for confusion. An analogy can be drawn
between officer and official and also bureaucrat and bureaucracy if we wish to understand difference
between government and governance.

Government
This is a body that comprises a person or a group of persons who run the administration of a country.
This is a means in which power is exercised. There are various forms of governments such as democracy
or autocracy but this article will remain confined to the general term government which is commonly
used in social sciences. In normal circumstances, a state is run by a government that has a mandate from
the people to run the affairs of the country and also a term that may be of 4-6 years to serve the state.
Thus there is a succession of governments in any country or the same government may be elected again
for a successive term if people feel that it has done its job of running the country in a fair and close to
ideal manner.
Governance
The word governance refers to the activities of a government. In layman’s terms, it is the rules and laws
made by the government that are sought to be implemented through a chosen bureaucracy which is
referred to as governance. The process of governing people or a state is called governance.
Difference between government and governance
To understand the differences between government and governance, one can take the example of a
business which is handled by a person or group of persons (called partners or owners). The way they run
the business with the help of employees applying their knowledge and experience is called
management. In a similar manner, government is the elected body of representatives headed by a
person. This body has the mandate to rule or govern people. And the manner in which they use the
established system and principles to run the affairs of the country is called governance.
Governance can be good or bad depending upon the perception of the people and they may accordingly
choose to retain or vote a particular government out of power.
In nutshell, governance is what a government does. It is the exercise of powers that are bestowed upon
the government according to set rules and regulations using a system of bureaucracy that defines
governance. Government is merely an instrument for the purpose of governance.
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