The expansion of the citizeship concept in the redefinition of a decent and civilized society

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the expansion of the concept of citizenship in its application to nonhuman animals and the relation with the idea of ​​a decent and civilized society. For this objective, it starts with the discussion about animal rights in the book Zoopolis: the political theory of animal rights, by Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka. Contrary to theories that basically emphasize the negative aspects of animal rights, the right not to be harmed, not to be tortured etc., this paper grounds a more positive aspect of Right, prioritizing duties and obligations towards animals for beyond the ethical perspective. This issue leads to the development of a political perspective of the concept of citizenship applied to animals on the assumption that geographical and public spaces are shared and thus, the interrelationships between humans and animals, are inevitable. In this sense, this article analyzes this concept of animal citizenship and investigate it with the concepts of humiliation and decent and civilized society of Avichai Margalit. Finally, it seeks to base a homo-zoopolitical perspective on society that includes animals in political principles.