"We Are Called Motswana Wa Pampiri" - Tactical Citizenship, Political Invisibility and Limits to Rights for People with a Migrant Background

This paper will demonstrate how the historical development of the Botswana Citizenship Act have contributed to the exclusion and othering of certain individuals due to the categorisation of citizens. I locate these debates using the experiences of people with a migrant background to demonstrate how these forms of othering manifest at the political and social level. I also show that such individuals adopt an in and out approach and view citizenship as a tool for accessing rights instead of an identity marker. Using the concept of Motswana wa pampiri (citizen on paper), I shed light on the tensions between citizenship framing and people with a migrant background's experiences of exclusion that lead them to employ strategies to claim rights while protecting their citizenship and playing at the margins. This process I call tactical citizenship which challenges conventional notions of citizenship, emphasising the daily reshaping of citizenship through rights claiming strategies at the local level. The paper makes a significant contribution to postcolonial and citizenship studies by shifting the focus from conventional perspectives on citizenship to a more nuanced understanding of citizenship. It also builds on studies that have explored unconventional forms of citizenship such as citizenship from the below and acts of citizenship. The paper will further highlight the tactical and strategic actions of what are considered as "marginalised" groups and highlight how people with a migrant background react to this marginality by offering a fresh lens to discuss migrants' struggles without reinforcing stereotypes. By focusing on such groups, the paper provides significant understanding of life at the margins and shows that such spaces normally viewed as merely oppressive or exclusionary, are potential sites where agency and creativity can be expressed as acts of citizenship.