Description of the programme

Dubbed from the start as a 'migrant crisis', post-2014 migration related challenges had been framed within the neoliberal notion of crisis management. Eight years on, the framing of ‘migrant crisis’ still features prominently in the public debate and crisis seems to have developed into a central logic of migration governance in Europe and beyond. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that this is more than a migrant crisis per se. Instead, debates about it being a crisis of hosting, of humanitarianism and ultimately a crisis of solidarity arise. Some might even argue that it is a ‘crisis’ produced not so much by the movement of people but the often violent and hostile response of states and EU agencies to this movement and a crisis produced by the underlying social forces of war, global inequality, climate change, nationalism and racism. In this context, this summer school asks – what does the crisis of solidarity look like in Europe today? What central struggles and tensions are shaping practices and acts of solidarity? And ultimately, what could solidarity look like in the context of the continual movement of people?

The summer school offers participants theoretical and practical insights into this state of continuous and successive crises that the world has been experiencing and how this reflects on the idea of solidarity, within the framework of the Eurozone ‘crisis’, the ‘crisis’ of liberal democracy, the ‘migrant crisis’, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion in Ukraine producing new waves of crises, including energy, food and security crises. Participants further learn from people ‘on the ground’, practitioners and internationally-acclaimed experts how these ‘crises’ re-enact each other, how they create the environment in which migration governance is currently formulated and how related narratives are constructed feeding into existing ones. Solidarity is understood among EU member states, as well as, from the host society towards migrants, among various migrant groups, or from migrant groups towards the host society. Furthermore, this summer school will offer critical engagement with moves to curtail and discipline acts of solidarity between host communities and people on the move and reflect on whether the ‘migrant crisis' has morphed into a crisis of not only movement but also democracy.

During the course of the summer school, students will address the following topics, along with the guidance and input of experts and practitioners: What are the long-term implications for a ‘new’ European politics of the language of 'migration crisis' and solidarity, given the rise in populism and far-right political movements across many European countries? What is life like now for those who moved a few years ago and remain in precarious living settings with insecure immigration status? How has discourse about the ‘migrant crisis’ penetrated narratives on existing ‘crises’, including the notion of solidarity? What has been the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or the Russian invasion in Ukraine on different expressions of solidarity? How are local organizations and institutions, in the places where numbers of recent international incomers peaked in 2015-2016, moving on from the 'crisis' of arrival to longer term questions of solidarity, integration and settlement? What is the view from the field, shared by policy makers and practitioners?

Crucially, participants will have the opportunity to engage with local and international NGOs and gain insight into the topics tackled in this summer school from the unique perspective of practitioners.

The summer school will be carried out in the form of lectures and workshops on migration, integration and solidarity, listening to views and insights from people working in NGOs and public authorities managing migration flows and integration in Greece.