Citizenship and political participation: an interpretive approach to the relationship between citizenship and the implementation of the public good

Abstract

Historically, the concept of citizenship reflects two different meanings.
The first meaning focuses on the pure origins of the concept in that it was
initially associated with the public participation of citizens in the management
of political affairs. It was achieved typically in the states of ancient Greece. As
for the second meaning, which was originally derived from the realities of the
political expansion of the Roman Empire, it showed an interest in the legal
aspect of citizenship in that it is a status that grants the individual rights and
imposes duties on him. Undoubtedly, the meaning that focuses on citizenship in
terms of requiring political participation, wanted to demonstrate the fact that
the public is the most careful in deciding policies that serve the public interest.
Therefore citizenship is not just a political association, but rather it is a means
directed to achieving an end represented in serving the public good.