In search of unbordered homelands: Exploring the role of music in building affective internationalist politics of solidarity1

Abstract

As racial nationalist regimes across the globe consolidate their power through their interconnections, so their efforts to divide people along lines of ‘race’, ethnicity, faith, nationality, immigration status and differentiated citizenship laws continue apace. With social media trolling and ‘fake news’ increasingly used as additional sources of power for the radical right, challenging racial nationalist narratives requires innovative forms of affective politics. One among these that can build transnational solidarity and also potentially celebrate working-class cultures is music. This article explores connections being made through music within and across national boundaries and across time. Case studies include music developed by those struggling against discriminatory (anti-Muslim) citizenship laws and state violence in India, and socialist internationalist Yiddish music – originally developed to protest against both anti-Semitic pogroms and exploitative employment conditions and currently being revived in the US, Europe and elsewhere.