Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between media framing of perceived out-groups and rates of citizenship revocation. Based on the literature, the theoretical argument states that the government of a country typically results in framing out-groups as security threats, economic threats, or incompatible to justify or increase the use of revoking citizenship. The use of citizenship revocation is a substantially impactful political tool as it repeals many resources and powers. This study is conducting a comparative observational design examining the United States (U.S.) and Canada. As a result, this study will answer the question of whether the use of framing certain identified groups as threatening leads to an increase in the number of citizenship revocations. The framing of out-groups will be measured through a collection of political media articles analyzing both the intensity at which the out-group is perceived, as well as the frequency with which they are mentioned as incompatible within each article. This form of framing will lead to the frequency of citizenship revocation by the government, implying that with more media threat framing, there will be more cases of citizenship revocation. The recorded cases of revocation will be measured by totaling each year within the time period being observed. Based on this analysis, it was determined that when there is an increase in threat framing of Muslim Immigrants in the media, it results in higher rates of citizenship revocation both in the U.S. and Canada.

Advisor

Leiby, Dr. Michele

Department

International Relations; Political Science

Disciplines

International Relations | Political Science | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Citizenship, Revocation, Denaturalization, Comparative

Publication Date

2026

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2026 Colette O. Rodriguez