In the last few years, an increasing number of migrants sought asylum in Europe. This phenomenon triggered a series of events and processes in different domains. Among them, various episodes of collective action took place in different countries: grassroots actions and initiatives in solidarity with refugees, self-organised protests lead by the same refugees at the borders and in camps, transnational campaigns demanding changes in European policies, and so on. The conference addresses these issues from different points of view and with the contribution of researchers and activists coming from different fields. In particular, this conference provides the chance for an interdisciplinary debate between scholars coming from the fields of social movement studies and political philosophy, who have been analysing the issue of migration and the episodes of collective action related to it through different conceptual lenses.

The morning session is dedicated to the discussion of the first results of the research project on collective action and refugees conducted by researchers at the Scuola Normale Superiore for the last year, under the direction of Donatella della Porta. The empirical focus is on the protest events related to the so-called ‘long summer of migration’ of 2015 all along the route followed by the migrants, from places of first arrival to places of passage and, then, places of destination. Through qualitative and quantitative data, researcher have mapped, within a cross-national comparative perspective, the wide set of actions and initiatives that are being created in solidarity with refugees that made the journey to the European Union to seek asylum, traveling across the Mediterranean Sea or through Southeast Europe. They focus on these cases from the perspective of social movement studies, aiming at bridging it with studies on migration and citizenship.

The afternoon session will be based on the outcomes of the DESEXIL project, directed by Marie-Claire Caloz-Tschopp at the Collège International de Philosophie in Paris, favouring an interdisciplinary dialogue between social movement studies and political philosophy. The discussion will take place in two roundtables, with the participation of members of DESEXIL Marie-Claire Caloz-Tschopp, Federico Oliveri and Ilaria Possenti, of social movement scholars Nicole Doerr and Pierre Monforte, of political philosopher Sandro Mezzadra and of activist Daniela Padoan. The goal of this session is to discuss the main theoretical elements related to the episodes of collective action that are taking place along the migrant roots and the borders of Europe, focusing on the emergence of new subjectivities, practices, knowledge, worldviews and alternative policies across the borders.

Allegati

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