ABSTRACT
Historically, solidarity has been institutionalized in the nation-state in the form of exclusive solidarity among citizens. Deportations enforce exclusive solidarity and are liable to create conflicts. Analysing two case studies from a materialist border regime perspective, I suggest conceptualizing struggles over deportations as disputes about solidarity and citizenship structured by legislation, practices, and discourses that enable certain practices and restrict other. I show how solidarity and citizenship are not only contested through acts of solidarity against deportations, but also within these acts. This results in what I call ‘differential solidarity’, which describes the ambivalent interaction of exclusive and inclusive aspects of solidarity practices. My analysis is based on interviews (with designated deportees, protest participants, and other supporters), protest materials, and newspaper articles, and takes into account the specific background of these struggles.
