A Convivial Journey: From Diversity in Istanbul to Solidarity with Refugees in Denmark

Abstract

This chapter presents my analytical journey from conviviality, a concept used for analysing diversity in Istanbul to overcome the pitfalls of multiculturalism and coexistence theories, to the development of the concept of convivial solidarity for the analysis of transnational civil society organisations that support refugees and migrants in Denmark. Convivial solidarity is my construct and I use it tentatively to argue that it takes its grounds from the daily life and social interactions between people without putting boundaries in between groups, by stressing what unites people, what they share as humans, and their fight for convivial living. Nonetheless, it is not limited to social interactions but has also political and legal grounding.