The Allegiance Paradox is a bold and timely examination of how American citizenship has shifted from a solemn civic commitment to a fragmented, transactional status. Drawing on legal history, moral philosophy, and contemporary geopolitics, Sebastian Saviano shows how the United States has drifted into a permissive model of citizenship—detached from clear standards of allegiance in an age of dual nationality, global mobility, and eroding civic norms.

Addressing urgent issues such as birth tourism, citizenship-by-investment, and the weakening of democratic expectations, Saviano argues that democracy cannot survive on administrative convenience alone. It requires a renewed culture of civic knowledge, shared responsibility, and deliberate allegiance to the common good.

At once urgent and accessible, this opening volume of The Collapse of Trust series blends scholarship with clarity, offering serious ideas for general readers concerned with the future of American democracy. Book Two, Legitimate Distrust: Why Conspiracy Theories Grow When Institutions Fail, is forthcoming in March 2026.