Assessment of the relevance of dual citizenship to national development: a case study of selected individuals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Dual citizenship is claimed to be a common phenomenon in the contemporary world. This is claimed to be manifested in the rapid acceptance and increase of the number of people who have been accorded dual citizenship throughout the world in the past decades. About half of all sovereign states in the world nowadays accept it for various reasons (Goldstein and Piazza, 1996; Faist, 2001). Currently, in Tanzania, dual citizenship has been associated with development. Some people argue that dual citizenship has nothing to do with development, while others assert that it can facilitate development. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the relevance of dual citizenship to national development. More specifically, it explores: (1) the merits and demerits of dual citizenship, (2) how dual citizenship might facilitate development (3) how dual citizenship might exacerbate conflict and insecurity, and finally, it recommends cautionary steps to be taken in formulating a dual citizenship policy for Tanzania, where such a need to be deemed urgently required. The study was carried out in the Dar es Salaam region. It employed a random sampling technique to select one hundred respondents both male and female, from five categories, namely diplomats, government officials, academicians, foreign nationals, and ordinary citizens of Tanzania. Data was collected through documentary survey, both structured and unstructured interview, as well as questionnaires. Qualitative information was employed in the completion of this study. The study reveals that, following the global changes accompanied by the transnational of people, dual citizenship is unavoidable. It also argues that dual citizenship is relevant to national development. More interestingly, the study also finds that it is possible for citizens to have the sense of belonging to more than one state, utilize the opportunities, and participate in development discourse in both countries. However, the limitless possibilities and advantages of dual citizenship must be balanced. The threats and problems posed by dual citizenship have frequently been diminished. Nation states that practice dual citizenship are evidenced to engage in bilateral agreement to overcome the conflicts that emanates from dual citizenship. In conclusion, the government of the United Republic of Tanzania is urged to consider ways of overcoming the effects of dual citizenship in both principal and subsidiary legislations in order to utilize its benefits while guarding against its negative effects.