‘We fight for all living things’: countering misconceptions about the radical animal liberation movement

This qualitative content analysis of online documents compiled from the North American Animal Liberation Front (ALF), Earth Liberation Kollective (ELK) and Grassroots Ontario Animal Liberation (GOAL) network websites and Facebook pages explores how activism within the Radical Animal Liberation Movement (RALM) intersects with other social movements. While most literature to date traces the RALM’s (dis)junctures with other forms of social justice activism through analyses of their broad ideological assumptions, or the views of renowned RALM scholars, this research provides authentic insights into the voices of Canadian, American and Mexican activists as they are represented in documents they author themselves. Like activists in anarchistic, anti-capitalist, immigrant rights, Indigenous, prison abolition, prisoner support and radical feminist movements, those in the RALM critique capitalism, colonialism, hierarchy, racism, sexism, state power and the prison industrial complex. Our research calls into question the existing narratives that depict the RALM as an extremist, single-issue movement oblivious to all other forms of social inequality, injustice, marginalization and oppression. Rather, RALM activists are building alliances with other radical social movements to achieve the common goal of ending both human and animal suffering and exploitation.     

Coalition-building and the forging of solidarity across difference and inequality

Diverse coalitions hold great potential for social movements, but they also face tremendous challenges. In this article, I review the literature on diverse alliances with a focus on how trust, commitment, and ultimately, solidarity can be developed and sustained across divides. The article begins by discussing the needs of diverse alliances to build trust and commitment, and the coalitional characteristics deemed vital for doing so, with a focus on shared neutral space, ongoing interaction, and social ties and bridgebuilders. Five coalitional processes and practices are identified and discussed that have been empirically found or theorized to be imperative for cultivating solidarity across difference and inequality. These processes include (a) uniting around shared principles while engaging difference; (b) acknowledging and managing inequalities; (c) making space for each other; (d) attention to managing conflicts; and (e) actions that confirm the shared commitments and negotiated identity. I conclude by evaluating the state of research on developing and sustaining alliances across divides.     

“A stitch in time”: group work during the covid-19 scare in the Nicobar Islands,India

ABSTRACT

When India suddenly went into its first coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown in March 2020, several members of a historically isolated indigenous community in the eastern Indian ocean- the Nicobarese, began to panic. Their leaders came together and formed a group to boost community solidarity and helped the vulnerable indigenes to safely navigate through the crisis. In these uncertain times of Covid-19, when the “modern” world appears more fissured than ever, leaving its “others” to fend for themselves; the Nicobarese’s group has set an example for everyone to follow.     

Power To Our Journeys: Re‐membering Michael

The following personal reflections are in honour of Michael and all that he contributed to our lives. And, we honour Brigitte a key member of the group who died in 2006. Mem, Sue and Veronica, December 2008.     

中华人民共和国民族互动过程述论

中华人民共和国成立之后,在中国共产党的领导下,在人民当家作主的新平台上,经过新一轮的民族互动,在马克思主义民族理论的基础上,中国各民族实现了现代意义的民族团结。     

The Solidary Relationship’s Consequences for the Ebb and Flow of Activism: Collaborative Evidence from Life-History Interviews and Social Media Event Analysis,

Acting in solidarity with deprived others has become a central topic in social movement research. The explanations of solidarity activism or political altruism are few. However, social movement researchers have claimed that solidarity with out-of-group others is a by-product of in-group interaction. In contrast, we argue that out-group interaction with the deprived other and the formation of a solidary relationship is central to the ebb and flow of solidarity activism. We investigate the Danish refugee solidarity movement and show that the meeting with the deprived other 1) brings about an interaction order which makes an ethical demand on the activists to care for the other both within the bounds of the situations and in the future; 2) enacts and amplifies activists’ values and beliefs because the deprived other becomes an exemplar of the injustice and the need to help the broader group of people in the same fragile situation. We develop and test this theory drawing on 42 life-history interviews and a social media dataset containing a panel of 87,455 activists participating in refugee solidarity groups.     

黄仁宇悖论与帝国逻辑——以科举制为线索

黄仁宇悖论描述了中华帝国组织形态松散关联但国家秩序坚韧稳定的矛盾特点。本文以科举制为线索,着眼于历史上中华帝国的观念制度来解读这一悖论,特别是这一松散关联组织形态的机制和过程。在中国历史上,科举制度提供了观念一体化的组织基础,导致了官僚体制内外正式与非正式制度的双向渗透和互构,国家与基层社会上下名与实的仪式性连接。这一观念制度提供了各地区、各层次间的同构性和相互关联,同时造就了一个松散关联的官僚组织。结束部分的“余论”指出,在当代中国,国家治理模式发生了重要转型,从观念一体化转向为组织一元化,为国家治理带来了一系列鲜明的特点和新的挑战。     

Social policies and solidarity during the Greek Crisis

This article provides a succinct overview of the phenomenon of solidarization in crisis‐ridden Greece. Brief accounts of the pre‐ and post‐crisis situation in four core social policy areas (health, employment, housing, education) are combined with the presentation of four illustrative case studies, one for each of the aforementioned areas. Drawing on a broad range of primary and secondary data, including 20 in‐depth interviews with key stakeholders and end‐users of the actions examined, we argue that while the crisis provoked a further “residualization” of the institutionalized solidarity system, it also triggered the development of new solidarity ventures, both by state and non‐state actors, often even including partnerships between them. These ventures reflect the building of a bridge between institutionalized and informal solidarity in Greece and the shift towards a new type of mixed, although fragmented, mode of solidarity.     

论西域民族的发展过程与结合特性

该文着眼世界四大文化圈唯一交汇处、九大语系中五大语系交融处的西域的时间和空间 ,重点历述和阐释了西域古代民族的发生、发展过程 ,从东西南北向西域迁徙的民族互市 ,“打交”、杂居、通婚、相互同化的视角 ,进一步论证了西域诸民族“你中有我 ,我中有你”的结合特性 ,特别从地域上的结合性、生产方式上的结合性 ,人种上的结合性、血缘上的结合性、文化心理上的结合性 5个方面具体印证了今天的“三个离不开”(汉族离不开少数民族 ,少数民族离不开汉族 ,各少数民族之间互相离不开 ) ,是具有中国特色的历史民族关系的必然结果 ,西域民族的结合特性也为我们增强整个中华民族的凝聚力提供了极强的可信性     

Toward a teacher solidarity lens: former teachers of color (re)envisioning educational research

Based on a two-year self-study by a group of early-career scholars of color, we explore and purposefully name our role, within the contemporary context of neoliberal reform, as educational researchers of color who are former K-12 teachers. We capture the insights that emerged from our self-study through a close reading of dominant neoliberal educational reform discourses, particularly through an examination of the writings of Michelle Rhee and Wendy Kopp. Along three dimensions of: (1) experience as teachers; (2) solidarity with teachers; and (3) analyses of racism in schooling, we characterize prominent discourses through which educators, researchers, and the public describe teachers and teaching. We name these discursive frames to make explicit the assumptions that are embedded in each and the intentional or inadvertent consequences of each. Finally, we propose a teacher solidarity lens through which we strive to approach our research and work with teachers.