Abstract

In Sudan, both law and common discourse focus on nationality (jinsiya in Arabic) rather than on citizenship (muwatana). Yet these two terms are often used interchangeably, even though compared with nationality, citizenship has a precise legal definition that provides access to specific rights. Citizenship is closely linked to the concept of rights as defined by national and international law, while nationality is a more ambiguous term which is closely associated with subjective understandings of community. Nationality is often defined and used more broadly, with reference to origin and to membership of a culturally defined community (Assal 2011), and may refer to membership of an ethno-national group that need not be established as an independent state (Bauböck 2006).