Subversive Citizenship? Practices of Solidarity with Refugees in Transit
摘要
This chapter reflects on the concept of subversive citizenship. Citizens all over Europe engage in practices of support and solidarity with migrants and refugees. A significant number of migrants cross borders within Europe in mostly clandestine ways. Acts of solidarity and humanitarian assistance for migrants in irregular transit are, therefore, often criminalized and can have a subversive character. Although it seems contradictory at the conceptual level, empirical observations suggest how acts of citizenship and subversive practices are compatible in practice. This chapter is based on empirical data from support groups for refugees in transit through Italy. Ethnographic data from interviews and website analyses with nine solidarity groups in different locations in Italy provides the ground to discuss the concept of subversive citizenship. In this way, this chapter contributes to the advancement of discussions about configurations of citizenship in the context of solidarity with migrants and refugees.