Isopolity
[ay-sə-POL-ih-tee]
Part of speech: noun
Origin: Greek, 19th century
1.
Equal citizenship rights, and mutual political rights, across different communities.
Examples of Isopolity in a sentence
"Our town encourages isopolity by offering free parking for cars with licenses from neighboring states."
"The European Union, in which citizens of one country mutually share rights enjoyed by citizens of other member nations, is an example of isopolity."
About Isopolity
“Isopolity” is based on the Greek expression “ἰσοπολῑτεία” (“isopoliteia”), referring to a citizen who has a reciprocal right.
Did you Know?
As a political idea, isopolity emerged from the city-states of ancient Greece, between 323 BCE and roughly 30 BCE. These states were ruled by citizens rather than kings or emperors, and they developed isopolity treaties, which offered equal citizenship rights between kindred communities. Isopolity usually referred to two-way citizenship between two friendly nation-states, in which a person from one state did not need to participate in the political life of the second state to which they were a citizen. Still, male citizens from one nation-state could marry women, or own land, in another state that they shared isopolity with.
