Conceptualising Solidarity: A Four-Dimensional Approach

Solidarity is one of the buzzwords in current political and social theory. There is also a growing debate about the nature, dimensions and foundations of solidarity in contemporary societies. The impact of the Euro crisis, Brexit or Europe's migration crisis have brought the debate about the state of solidarity in Europe at the forefront of political and public debates (Wallaschek 2018). While the normative discussion on the premise, pitfalls and opportunities of solidarity is extensive (Banting and Kymlicka 2017; Brunkhorst 2005; Eriksen 2017; Scholz 2008), the descriptive-analytical conceptualisation of solidarity is rather multifaceted. This leads to a potpourri of understandings of solidarity that are applied in recent empirical studies on solidarity (Closa and Maatsch 2014; Della Porta 2018; Galpin 2017; Kuhn et al. 2018; van Oorschot 2006) and thereby, the meaning of solidarity strongly depends on the specific operationalisation of solidarity. In turn, this makes comparative and theory-building work on solidarity rather difficult (but see Lahusen and Grasso 2018). Therefore, we argue that a more encompassing and analytically driven account of solidarity is needed and necessary for future studies on solidarity. We suggest looking at 4 dimensions: we-feeling(In-group-belonging), addressee(out-group-relation), mutuality(types of reciprocity), regime type(political opportunity structure). These four dimensions can be divided into various sub-dimensions and adapted for the purpose of empirical studies. By offering an analytical conceptualisation of solidarity, we also provide an understanding of solidarity that can show what solidarity is not. Hence, we distinguish solidarity from related concepts such as charity, justice or altruism. These concepts are often conflated within researching solidarity. This conceptual differentiation will help to have a clear focus on solidarity itself. Lastly, we will sketch out future pathways to investigate solidarity from an empirical perspective, drawing on insights from the interdisciplinary collaboration project SOLDISK which analyses discourses of solidarisation and de-solidarisation in Europe's migration crisis.