Introduction: inclusive solidarity and citizenship along migratory routes in Europe and the Americas

Abstract

In this special issue, we link non-essentialist concepts of solidarity and citizenship to migration in different empirical contexts. We analyse how civil society initiatives renegotiate societal structures in solidarity with people on the move, noncitizens and racialized individuals, and in doing so we contribute to current debates about citizenship and solidarity. Focusing on solidarity among members of the so-called ‘majority society’ in Europe and the Americas, this issue offers a collection of articles that have analysed particular practices of solidarity–both material and symbolic–as well as the mindsets, discourses, and broader societal contexts that provide the fundament of these practices. As these empirical cases demonstrate, we argue that solidarity is not necessarily based on a pre-established and exclusive community, but that more inclusive solidarities arise through collective practices, the emergence of new subjectivities, and the mediation of differences. Furthermore, we introduce the term ‘solidarity citizenship’ to link these two concepts.