The Solidary Relationship’s Consequences for the Ebb and Flow of Activism

Postdoc Hjalmar Bang Carlsen, Research Assistant Snorre Ralund and Postdoc Jonas Toubøl have contributed to the journal Sociological Forum with the article ‘The Solidary Relationship’s Consequences for the Ebb and Flow of Activism: Collaborative Evidence from Life‐History Interviews and Social Media Event Analysis’.

Social movement researchers have claimed that solidarity with out‐of‐group others is a by‐product of in‐group interaction. In contrast, the authors argue that out‐group interaction with the deprived other and the formation of a solidary relationship is central to the ebb and flow of solidarity activism.

The article investigates the Danish refugee solidarity movement and show that the meeting with the deprived other 1) brings about an interaction order which makes an ethical demand on the activists to care for the other both within the bounds of the situations and in the future; 2) enacts and amplifies activists’ values and beliefs because the deprived other becomes an exemplar of the injustice and the need to help the broader group of people in the same fragile situation.

The authors develop and test this theory drawing on 42 life‐history interviews and a social media dataset containing a panel of 87,455 activists participating in refugee solidarity groups.

Get access to the article.