Elizabeth F. Cohen

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Elizabeth F. Cohen
Nationality American
Alma mater
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions

Elizabeth F. Cohen is an American political scientist. She is the Maxwell Professor of political science at Boston University. [1] She is a political theorist who studies citizenship, immigration, and value of time in politics.

Contents

Education

Cohen attended Swarthmore College, graduating with a B.A. degree in Philosophy and Sociology. [2] She then attended graduate school at Yale University, where she earned an M.A., an M.Phil., and a Ph.D. in political science in 2003. [2]

Career

In 2004, Cohen joined the political science faculty at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. [2] In summer 2010 she was a visiting fellow at the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and she was a 2014–2015 visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation. [2]

In 2009, Cohen published the book Semi‐citizenship in Democratic Politics. [3] In Semi‐citizenship in Democratic Politics, Cohen studies the idea that people can be only partially citizens, by being granted only some of the rights of citizens. [4] She examines the different types of semi-citizens, splitting their rights into two major categories: autonomous rights, which are useful in any political context, and relative rights, such as the right to property, which are useful only in some political arrangements. [4] Cohen uses this subtler picture of citizenship to challenge the narrative that modern liberal democracies contain one category of partial citizens and another category of full citizens, and that people who have previously been granted only partial citizenship can assemble a collection of rights that will ultimately make them complete citizens; rather, she argues that different citizens have always enjoyed complicated combinations of rights and that there is no one coherent category of total citizenship. [5]

In 2018, Cohen published the book The Political Value of Time: Citizenship, Duration, and Democratic Justice. The Political Value of Time studies how time shapes and is incorporated into politics, like the relationship between space and politics that is studied in the field of political geography. [6] Cohen shows that time is embedded into many of the most fundamental processes in democratic politics, such as the 18 years that it takes for a person to be able to vote in many countries, and the 3 to 5-year span that is a common waiting time for naturalization of new citizens. [6] She studies the difference between these circumstances and ones in which a political status is imposed which will never expire, such as the permanent disfranchisement of some felons, and she compares and evaluates the timespans and deadlines that are attached to various political situations. [6] The Political Value of Time won the Best Book Award for 2019 from the Migration and Citizenship section of the American Political Science Association. [7]

Cohen was also the coauthor of the 2019 book Citizenship with Cyril A. Ghosh. [2] In 2020, Cohen published Illegal: America's Lawless Immigration Regime and How it Threatens Us All. In Illegal Cohen studies United States immigration policy, how it's enforced by agencies like U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the United States Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and how treatment of immigrants interacts with trends like white nationalism in American politics and has implications for the possible treatment of everyone in the country. [8]

In addition to her scholarly writing, Cohen has written op-eds for numerous American newspapers, magazines, and websites. [9] [10] [11] Her work has been discussed in the New York Times by Charles M. Blow, [12] and in New York Magazine . [13] She has also spoken in university and civic settings throughout North America and Western Europe. [14]

Cohen was an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Political Science from 2019 to 2023. [2]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democracy</span> Form of government

Democracy is a system of government in which state power is vested in the people or the general population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitive elections while more expansive definitions link democracy to guarantees of civil liberties and human rights in addition to competitive elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration to the United States</span> Overview of immigration to the United States of America

Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of its history. In absolute numbers, the United States has by far the highest number of immigrants in the world, with 50,661,149 people as of 2019. This represents 19.1% of the 244 million international migrants worldwide, and 14.4% of the United States' population. In 2018, there were almost 90 million immigrants and U.S.-born children of immigrants in the United States, accounting for 28% of the overall U.S. population.

The libertarian perspective on immigration is often regarded as one of the core concepts of libertarian theory and philosophy. There is considerable disagreement among libertarians as to what stance towards immigration best accords with libertarian principles. Some hold that restrictions on immigration are an infringement of the rights of immigrants and other property owners and constitute a threat to individual liberty. Others maintain that open borders amount to a policy of forced integration on the part of the state, and that protecting the rights of property holders requires that present governments adopt much more discriminatory policies on who is allowed to enter a country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 California Proposition 187</span> Ballot initiative

California Proposition 187 was a 1994 ballot initiative to establish a state-run citizenship screening system and prohibit illegal immigrants from using non-emergency health care, public education, and other services in the State of California. Voters passed the proposed law at a referendum on November 8, 1994. The law was challenged in a legal suit the day after its passage, and found unconstitutional by a federal district court on November 11. In 1999, Governor Gray Davis halted state appeals of this ruling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free migration</span> View that people may live in any country

Free migration or open immigration is the position that people should be able to migrate to whatever country they choose with few restrictions.

United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court which held that "a child born in the United States, of parents of Chinese descent, who, at the time of his birth, are subjects of the Emperor of China, but have a permanent domicile and residence in the United States, and are there carrying on business, and are not employed in any diplomatic or official capacity under the Emperor of China", automatically became a U.S. citizen at birth. This decision established an important precedent in its interpretation of the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States nationality law</span> History and regulations of American citizenship

United States nationality law details the conditions in which a person holds United States nationality. In the United States, nationality is typically obtained through provisions in the U.S. Constitution, various laws, and international agreements. Citizenship is established as a right under the Constitution, not as a privilege, for those born in the United States under its jurisdiction and those who have been "naturalized". While domestic documents often use the words citizenship and nationality interchangeably, nationality is a broader term that refers to national identity and formal membership in a nation, while citizen is reserved to nationals who have the recognized status of citizenship.

In law, an alien is any person who is not a citizen or a national of a specific country, although definitions and terminology differ to some degree depending upon the continent or region. More generally, however, the term "alien" is perceived as synonymous with foreign national.

"Much Apu About Nothing" is the twenty-third episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 5, 1996. In the episode, a referendum is placed on the ballot that will require all illegal immigrants in Springfield to be deported. After learning that Apu will be deported if the measure passes, Homer helps him prepare for a United States citizenship test so that he can become a legal citizen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illegal immigration to the United States</span> Immigration to the United States in violation of US law

Foreign nationals (aliens) can violate US immigration laws by entering the United States unlawfully or lawfully entering but then remaining after the expiration of their visas, parole, or temporary protected status. Illegal immigration has been a matter of intense debate in the United States since the 1980s.

Civic nationalism, otherwise known as democratic nationalism, is a form of nationalism that adheres to traditional liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, and individual rights, and is not based on ethnocentrism. Civic nationalists often defend the value of national identity by saying that individuals need it as a partial shared aspect of their identity in order to lead meaningful, autonomous lives and that democratic polities need a national identity to function properly. Liberal nationalism is used in the same sense as 'civic nationalism', but liberal ethnic nationalism also exists, and "state nationalism" is a branch of civic nationalism, but it can also be illiberal.

Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, is a political ideology that seeks to restrict the incoming of people from one area to another. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory in which they are not citizens in contrast, but closely correspond to emigration which refers people leaving one state or territory in which they are citizens. Illegal immigration occurs when people immigrate to a country without having official permission to do so. Opposition to immigration ranges from calls for various immigration reforms, to proposals to completely restrict immigration, to calls for repatriation of existing immigrants.

Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, from poorer to richer countries. Illegal residence in another country creates the risk of detention, deportation, and/or other persecutions.

United States citizenship can be acquired by birthright in two situations: by virtue of the person's birth within United States territory or because at least one of their parents was a U.S. citizen at the time of the person's birth. Birthright citizenship contrasts with citizenship acquired in other ways, for example by naturalization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mae Ngai</span> American historian

Mae Ngai is an American historian and Lung Family Professor of Asian American Studies and Professor of History at Columbia University. She focuses on nationalism, citizenship, ethnicity, immigration, and race in 20th-century United States history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open border</span> Border that enables free movement of people between jurisdictions

An open border is a border that enables free movement of people between jurisdictions with no restrictions on movement and is lacking substantive border control. A border may be an open border due to intentional legislation allowing free movement of people across the border, or a border may be an open border due to a lack of legal controls, a lack of adequate enforcement or adequate supervision of the border. An example of the former is the Schengen Agreement between most members of the European Economic Area. An example of the latter has been the border between Bangladesh and India, which is becoming controlled. The term "open borders" applies only to the flow of people, not the flow of goods and services, and only to borders between political jurisdictions, not to mere boundaries of privately owned property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhutanese nationality law</span> History and regulations of Bhutanese citizenship

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citizenship of the United States</span> Legal status in the U.S.

Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States, such as freedom of expression, due process, the rights to vote, live and work in the United States, and to receive federal assistance.

Jane Junn is an American political scientist. She is the University of Southern California Associates Chair in Social Sciences, and a professor of political science and gender studies. She studies public opinion, political behavior, and survey methodology, including work on the relationship between education and public participation, Asian American political participation, and gender and politics.

References

  1. ↑ "Elizabeth Cohen | Political Science". www.bu.edu. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Elizabeth F. Cohen". Syracuse University. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  3. ↑ Hamidi, Camille (February 1, 2011). "Review Semi-Citizenship in Democratic Politics". Revue française de science politique. 61 (1): 154–156.
  4. 1 2 Bolzendahl, Catherine (July 2010). "Review Semi-Citizenship in Democratic Politics". American Journal of Sociology. 116 (1): 301–303. doi:10.1086/655640.
  5. ↑ Balfour, Lawrie (December 1, 2010). "Review Semi-Citizenship in Democratic Politics". Perspectives on Politics. 8 (4): 1190–1191. doi:10.1017/S1537592710002379. S2CID   145809115.
  6. 1 2 3 Lazar, Nomi Claire (June 2020). "Review The Political Value of Time: Citizenship, Duration, and Democratic Justice". Perspectives on Politics. 18 (2): 614–615. doi:10.1017/S1537592720000432. S2CID   225828239.
  7. ↑ "Best Book Award". PS: Political Science & Politics. 52 (4). American Political Science Association: 838–858. 2019. doi:10.1017/S1049096519001550. S2CID   233340619 . Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Review Illegal: America's Lawless Immigration Regime and How it Threatens Us All". Kirkus Reviews. 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  9. ↑ Cohen, Elizabeth F. (March 13, 2019). "What Immigration Restrictionists Can't Foresee". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  10. ↑ Cohen, Elizabeth (February 1, 2013). "Should illegal immigrants become citizens? Let's ask the founding fathers". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  11. ↑ Cohen, Elizabeth F. (March 1, 2017). "Why Trump's immigration policies will increase undocumented immigration". The Agenda. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  12. ↑ Blow, Charles M. (June 22, 2013). "Opinion | Border Surge Meets Bluster Surge". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  13. ↑ Levitz, Eric (December 4, 2019). "ICE Didn't Need McKinsey's Help to Abuse Detainees". Intelligencer. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  14. ↑ https://aissr.uva.nl/content/events/lectures/2018/12/the-political-value-of-time.html?origin=KUHyM4f8RLeh6D4937fo2A&1573907986531 [ dead link ]
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