Solidarity as a Verb: Engaging in Pro-migrant Actions in Localised Contexts

This article examines solidarity not as a static concept but as an active practice—“solidarity as a verb”—by analysing pro-migrant actions in localized contexts. Drawing on empirical and theoretical insights from a range of European and non-European settings, the authors introduce the Special Issue “Making solidarity in migration contexts” by investigating how individuals, grassroots groups, and community networks mobilize support for asylum seekers, refugees, and other migrants outside formal institutional frameworks. The article foregrounds the social, political, and ethical dimensions of these actions, highlighting how localized engagement can challenge dominant narratives of exclusion and reshape understandings of civic participation, belonging, and mutual aid. Through a comparative lens, the paper explores the motivations, strategies, and outcomes of pro-migrant solidarity, situating them within broader debates about migration governance, social justice, and collective action. By emphasizing practice over principle, this work contributes to a deeper theorization of solidarities that are embedded in everyday spaces of interaction, negotiation, and resistance.