How thick is blood? The biopolitics of citizenship transmission

Organised by

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• GGP: Global Governance Programme

The increasing diversity in family structures, rising maternal age, declining male fertility, and advancements in assisted reproductive technologies—along with the growing use of surrogacy and adoption services—highlight how the legal and social parameters of the family are deeply are inextricable from debates on citizenship status transmission. These discussions raise complex questions about the connections between reproductive governance, citizenship, and nationhood.

This study first explores how the governance of political membership in cases of non-coital births challenges the traditional notion of the nation, which has long been rooted in the heteronormative ideal of the family. It then examines how biomedical laws, parentage legislation, and citizenship acquisition intersect, revealing how the regulation of human reproduction is embedded in decisions about who is included in the political community.