‘As some Member States of the European Union lurch uncertainly towards nationalistic approaches to citizenship puzzling questions arise about the elements of that national identity. The search for legal mechanisms through which to describe national identity has increasingly focused on foreigners who apply to become citizens – naturalisation. Devising for and applying state administrative tests to foreigners to determine whether they are sufficiently close to the national identity to merit citizenship reveals important cleavages in our understanding of the nature of identity and solidarity in the form of citizenship. This book provides a fascinating insight into the process of creating tests, applying them and the outcomes for individuals and societies. In the process it uncovers for us some very important assumptions about belonging in Europe in the 21st century.’ – Elspeth Guild, Jean Monnet ad personam Professor of European Migration Law

Publication details and link to source: Ricky van Oers, Eva Ersbøll and Dora Kostakopoulou, ‘A Re-definition of belonging? Language and Integration Tests in Europe’, Brill, 2010.