Citizenship, identity and justice in times of contestation

This editorial introduces Citizenship Teaching and Learning 20.3, foregrounding critical explorations of citizenship, identity and justice amid heightened political contestation, educational transformation and transnational struggles for recognition. The issue opens with Waghid and Bosio’s argument for global citizenship education (GCE) as a deliberative and decolonial praxis grounded in critical solidarity, capable of resisting human-rights violations in contexts of oppression. Commentaries by Peters and Papastephanou extend the debate by probing structural silences surrounding economic forces, postcolonial complicity and ecological dimensions of justice. Subsequent contributions examine how citizenship and identity are negotiated across diverse settings – including Tunisia, Israel, Turkey, Indonesia and Japan – revealing persistent tensions between reformist intent and practical enactment. Collectively, the articles assert education as both a site of ideological contestation and a generative space for democratic solidarity. In times of retrenching authoritarianism, they reimagine citizenship as praxis towards justice, inclusion and mutual recognition.