ABSTRACT
This chapter reflects on the idea of solidarity and what it can mean. It explores the basic idea of solidarity and arrives at a conception that seems appropriate to the context of the Refugee Question, although that may have to change as the arguments progress. The chapter explores some philosophical debates about the scope of the idea of solidarity. It examines the arguments of Patti T. Lenard, who argues that solidarity needs to be robustly underpinned by common values, such that something like “global” solidarity would therefore be unachievable. The chapter examines the phenomenon of solidarity with refugees in Europe, looking at activist groups who seek to support refugees and asylum seekers in the name of solidarity. It uses these experiences to test the arguments of Lenard and Ypi, and argues that they show that Ypi’s more optimistic take on the project of global solidarity has some empirical evidence to support it.
