“Solidarity is not beneficence or charity.” – Shirin Rai 2018:14
The concept of solidarity is widely debated in both political and academic contexts. On the one hand, solidarity can be understood as a universal moral obligation, closely linked to ideas of social justice. On the other hand, it can be seen as a practice based on shared (political) interests, aimed at realizing those interests. In social movements, solidarity often functions as a mobilizing tool – a call for various actors to take a stand. Solidarity is always tied to questions of belonging. Depending on how it is defined, it can refer to specific constellations, organizational structures, nationstate identities, or even apply universally to humanity or life itself (Mayer et al. 2024:11).
What is clear is that solidarity must be distinguished from welfare and humanitarian aid. It arises from shared ideals of social justice or common (political) goals. Efforts to clarify this distinction often emphasize symmetrical and reciprocal relationships as preconditions for solidarity (Jaeggi 2021:54f.).
Symmetrical and reciprocal relationships – in global contexts of inequality?
In his influential book “The Wreched of the Earth”, anti-colonial thinker Frantz Fanon argued for the right of former colonies to reparations from their colonizers. The wealth of the West, he claimed, was “built on the backs of slaves” (Fanon 1981:79). From his deeply humanist perspective, Fanon derived a moral obligation for West-ern countries to make reparations – not just materially, but as an acknowledgment of guilt and responsibility for global inequality as a consequence of colonialism.
What we now call “international development cooperation” could be seen as an attempt to realize Fanon’s demands. But far too often, forms of “neo-colonial policy advising” take place under the guise of development cooperation – following the development agendas of donor countries rather than responding to the needs and visions of the recipients of solidarity, while failing to address existing structures of inequality and dependence (Kerner 2024:38).
Postcolonial pathways to solidarity?
Postcolonial perspectives tend to understand solidarity as some-thing that must be continually redefined and negotiated in dialogue. They move away from the idea that we can offer universal answers to the difficult questions of practicing solidarity in unequal conditions and call for case-specific negotiation (Kerner 2024:44).
According to Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, it is especially important to pursue a shared interest in knowledge in order to create concrete opportunities for solidarity in practice (cf. Spivak 1996a,b). Chandra Talpade Mohanty works with the concept of “coalition” and argues for solidarity without identity. In her view, solidarity is not based on shared experiences or identity, but rather on a strategic alliance aimed at finding compromises on common concerns (Mohanty 1992:84).
