LTXX a. pabaigos valstybės neįmanoma įsivaizduoti be pilietybės instituto. Šiandien jis kuria visuotinį teisinį individo ir valstybės ryšį, kuriuo apibrėžta asmenų asociacija skiriama nuo svetimšalių, jai numatant ypatingas visuotines pilietines, politines, socialines teises bei pareigas. Pilietybės tyrimų diskurse moderni jos samprata siejama su Prancūzijos didžiosios revoliucijos respublikonizmo idėja bei imama plačiau analizuoti tik nuo XVIII a. pabaigos. Kita vertus, „revoliucija išrado tiek tautinę valstybę, tiek modernų nacionalinės pilietybės institutą bei ideologiją. [Tačiau] nei vienas iš jų nebuvo sutvertas ex nihilo". Iš esmės Prancūzijos revoliucija tik viešai pateikė ir įteisino pilietybės problematiką, bet jos pradmenys glūdėjo gerokai ankstesnėje socialinėje, politinėje teorijoje ir praktikoje [p. 130].
ENThis article considers a manifestation of early origins of modern citizenship. It argues that some of its primary elements can be traced back to the social and political practice of European states in the complex and dynamic period of the sixteenth century. This phenomenon can be observed in Volanas' (1531-1610, Lithuanian-Polish state) legal and social thought. The author is keen on relinquishing an understanding of society as a hierarchical and corporate body. His ideas of estate openness and mobility could suggest that the individual is its primary element. A great significance is attached to the extention of civic equality to different social strata. According to Volanas, society and the state are a means to restore an ideal presocial state and protect natural rights in historical times. His point of view may give hints of modern classical social theories of primary conflict and the social contract. Social relations ought to be based on a rule of law that possesses primacy against the will of a ruler whose power is also restricted by the principle of political participation. He could be considered a mediator between the citizenry and judicial norms. However, the main factor in constructing a civic relationship is obedience to a general, universal, impartial law based on natural rights. Thus, according to Volanas, the Lithuanian-Polish citizenry should include the gentry as well as townsfolk and the peasantry. This point of view reveals progressive trends in the understanding of civic relationships in the sixteenth century.