IUS SOLI AS A BATTLE OF CIVILIZATION IN ITALY

IUS SOLI AS A BATTLE OF CIVILIZATION IN ITALY


This analysis takes starts from Brahim Maarad's article in the Espresso magazine about the recognition of Italian citizenship to the children of long-time immigrants living in Italy.

In the title we see how the temporal duration of the presence on the territory by the second generations is a very important cultural element as a strategy for defending one's rights in line with the cultural dimension of the "short-term temporal orientation" because the facts accomplished by these persons are already enrolled in the past or present.
 

In fact, to be able to move towards a " temporal long-term" cultural dimension, it is necessary to recognize the previous period lived in the "short-term" temporal cultural dimension as a typical cultural dimension in the lives of Italians. The concept of "ius soli" is mentioned as a claim of "civilization" by the children of the second generations in order to reduce the social distance from power because "ius soli" as a law would be a way to reduce the presence of a existential hierarchy in the Italian social space. Furthermore, the "ius soli" is also a way to increase one's "collectivism" within the Italian community by creating a wider and "more conscientious" space and ultimately a way to achieve a greater sense of harmony within the Italian society. The introduction of the "ius soli" represents a possibility to adhere to a cultural dimension of "weak avoidance of uncertainty" in which politics sees citizens as competent, moreover the creation of a "long-term" cultural orientation could be reviewed with the fact that the country is capable of changing its traditions according to the social change present in Italy. All this should be done in order to reach a "satisfied" cultural dimension with a greater feeling of control over one's life.

The author of this article Maarad Brahim tells us what it means to feel Italian but not being able to become it so far by law. In essence, feeling Italian means accepting to adhere to a cultural dimension of "weak avoidance of uncertainty" because ambiguity and uncertainty must be accepted in the daily life. At the same time, these children are forced to adhere to a "restrained" cultural dimension with the presence of a feeling of abandonment by the institutions because things do not depend on my will, I am not allowed to be happy in this situation or to remember any positive emotions in such situation. And then, above all, my freedom of speech is greatly reduced by my status as a citizen without citizenship.

The introduction of a law such as "ius soli" would be the creation of a space for the future as a long-term temporal orientation for the whole nation where the events of many people could take place in Italy, in which a "humanist" State such as Italy can prove to itself capable of adapting to the needs of circumstances.

This article is written by a young journalist like Maarad who follows politics as a form of strengthening and recognition of his need for a positive face, but this recognition is denied him with the ban on voting during the Italian elections. This denial represents a very high cost to be incurred for the protection of his negative face understood as the freedom not to be impeded in his daily life.

In practice, we observe how his work as a journalist offers a positive face for Maarad while the collective face of Italy, that is the State offers only heavy costs to bear for his negative face as a "non-Italian citizen".

Therefore the collective face of the country pushes the second generations into the "restrained" cultural dimension because things do not depend on their will for them. In this way, the State creates existential inequalities between people, making for all Italian citizens increase and oblige to join a society with a high index of social distance between its "in-group" members and the second generations still perceived as "out-group" despite their sociological experience being totally Italian.

In his article, Maarad cites the fact that he could vote in Morocco but does not intend to do so because he does not know the political candidates, which can be understood a form of adhesion to a "strong avoidance of uncertainty" as a typical response for people living in Italy. His response is a striking example of his integration into the Italian cultural life by showing that he is joining an Italian "in-group" in practice while Morocco is perceived as an "out-group" for the journalist Maarad. Ultimately, his country of origin has become an "out-group" country, bringing his person to live in the "individualism" dimension because his "I is conscientious" of his particular situation. However this "individualism" dimension represents a form of threat to its need for a positive face and therefore the presence of 800,000 other children in this situation is mentioned as a way to obtain the creation of this new "in-group" within society Italian. Naming this presence of 800,000 children in its position serves to create very high costs for the defence of the negative face of the State. These young people have joined a "temporal" identity dimension with a short-term temporal orientation but then they are considered as" out-group "(foreigners) of Italian society and this pushes them to live in a type dimension very " restrained. "

This situation could change with the approval of the "ius soli" law in the Senate. Unfortunately, this law has been stopped for two years, that is a way to exemplify the slowness of a legal country that does not want to accept or see change as a typical response of those who live in the "short-term" cultural dimension where all the facts relevant for the country are all inscribed in the past.

So the ius soli becomes a dispute between the collective face of "politics" that wants to remain in a "short-term temporal orientation" because there is a stability of the State as always equal to itself and there are universal lines on what is good or bad in situations. Another part of politics and society tries to adhere to these epochal changes by embracing the dimension of a "long-term temporal orientation" by trying to propose a policy capable of adapting to circumstances and where the traditions of a country can be changed.

For Maarad and in general for the "second generation" group, this law is an act of civilization, which means it is a way of indicating how the absence of such a law represents too high cost for the collective face of an entire incapable national community in order to offer any "satisfied" cultural dimension response to its new population. It would also be an act that would allow the country to expand its concept of " in-group" with a renewed sense of adhesion to its "collectivism".

 Ultimately it is a law to emphasize the need for belonging of this young peoples.

The condition of "foreigner" for these youngsters becomes evident above all when their Italian fellow students make trips abroad with a typical approach of the cultural dimension of "weak avoidance of uncertainty" because they experience travel with little stress and tranquillity. All this is precluded to the children of the second generations, who experience these moments as "travel abroad" as moments to fully understand how their situation in Italy is linked to the cultural dimension of the "restrained" and at the same time with a "strong avoidance of uncertainty" with the simple threat of not being able to travel with classmates because they are not in possession of the Italian passport.

Maarad tells how these generation are people who graduate in Italy but who often cannot practice the profession, train as sportsmen but cannot become military or cannot participate in public job sectors. All these lack of acknowledgments represent "unbearable" and "unsustainable" costs for the protection of their negative face because they are all responses of the "collective face" of legal Italy with offers any recognition for the need for a positive face present in these "orphans" of Italian citizenship. These young people are forced to live in the dimension of "weak avoidance of uncertainty" malgré eux. 

The journalist Maarad explains how he cannot vote but must always be in queue in front of the police headquarters to obtain a residence permit. These second generations do not participate in democratic life as within an enlarged "in-group" but are perceived as eternal "out-groups" since they must ask for a residence permit. This residence permit represents the only element of adhesion to the "collectivism" dimension of the country, that is the only way to try to emphasize a belonging with the Italian State. This state of the art represents very high threats for the protection of the negative collective face of these 800,000 children because they also risk becoming "illegal" when they do not have all the conditions for the renewal of their residence permit. In addition, there is no possibility of receiving social aid because often the " Italians first" is law. The concept of extended family with these children disappears because no "collectivism" is offered with them but only a relationship with the State based on "high social distance" cultural dimension since the State does not even feel the need to legitimize its choices before the eyes of these young people and therefore has created a social hierarchy in harmony with the Northern League slogan but which is convenient for many "Italians first". In other words, an existential hierarchy has been created between Italians and foreigners as if my tolerance were ensured to foreigners on the condition that I never have to compete with an immigrant for obtaining  any kind of State benefits.

This article by Maarad highlights the results achieved in 18 years of life in Italy in which there have been acknowledgments but also too many renunciations, that is to say there have been elements of benefits for my need for recognition of the positive face but there have been costs too high to incur in this condition of citizen without "citizenship". These kids are perceived as "out-group" while they would like to live their present time in Italy because they want to be "proud" to be Italian and to serve this country as a way to live within a dimension of "short-term temporal orientation". On the contrary, they are perceived as a threat to a policy rooted in a "strong avoidance of uncertainty" because every novelty must be fought vigorously. The second generation children are already full members of the "in-group" Italy but are legally treated as "out-group" or as "non-EU members", that is to say as external members of the European community where my opinions on the people are founded in harmony with belonging to a pre-determined "in-group".

 Maarad highlights how this law of "ius soli" is also a way to make these kids adhere to an "individualism" dimension because it would be an opportunity to put forward their skills and not be as always postponed to a mere "out-group" dimension within the Italian reality. For now it's seems not to be possible of having access to this dimension of "individualism" in which the tasks carried out are more important than the relationships within the society as it usually happens sadly in Italian social life.

While acknowledging the presence of a law for Italian citizenship, with the possibility of offering some benefits to the collective face of the country and paying some costs to its negative face, for Maarad the process of this law remains too complicated. Consequently, this complicated path for obtaining citizenship becomes a form of threat due to the same need for recognition present in the positive face of applicants.

The current process for citizenship is completely inscribed in the cultural dimension of the "strong avoidance of uncertainty" by the State as a form of non-acceptance of the change present in society while such citizenship for those children must serve to exit rightly from this eternal "restrain" dimension to adhere to a "weak avoidance of uncertainty" dimension because we accept the change as it comes and we try to bring people forward towards a "satisfied" cultural dimension.

The "ius soli" law is a final attempt to regain a positive face by Italian politics and if this attempt were to fail then the costs for the negative collective face of the second generations would be so high as to push them to live abroad. In other words, it would be better to really exclude yourself from this "in-group" that don't recognize them in order to look elsewhere for a true "out-group" feeling in a third country.

Ultimately it is better to become a true "out-group" member abroad rather than an "out-group" of a community unable to accept the new members of the so called extended Italian family.