Upscaling solidarity: city networks and civil society organisations from a multi-scalar perspective

Works on the local turn of integration policies have highlighted the growing involvement of municipalities and local organisations in the welcoming and management of immigrant populations. In various parts of world, public and private actors coalesce to undertake actions to improve the living populations of migrants and minorities. This paper sheds light on efforts to upscale such collaborations at a transnational level in order to lobby national authorities and enlarge the scope of their action. This paper draws on the analysis of “From the Sea to the City” campaign. This campaign was initiated in 2021 by Mediterranean welcoming cities, Search and Rescue organisations and the German NGO Seebrücke, in the wake of the publication of the Palermo Charter on the right to migrate. It forms a coalition of cities, Search and Rescue organisations, European institutions and civil society organisations. Our aim is to investigate the forms and agendas guiding such upscaling. Who are the actors composing such configurations? What are their respective incentives and their impacts on current policy debates? We will also consider the extent to which these coalition may (or may not) have any ripple effects on actors working locally.