Contribution short abstract:

This paper explores how a grassroots mission at the EU border blends aid with radical solidarity, building informal networks that resist border regimes. Drawing on ethnographic analysis, it shows how evolving political philosophies shape transnational social actions and forms of resistance.

Contribution long abstract:

After nearly a decade at the center of political debate, crisis narratives around borders and migration—once driving civil society engagement—are now eroding solidarity, fueled by the rise of right-wing anti-immigration rhetoric. In this climate of growing repression, grassroots organizations that emerged during the “long summer of migration” confront tensions between their roles as humanitarian actors and proponents of radical solidarity.

This paper examines the “humanitarian mission” of an Italian grassroots organization operating at the EU’s external border between Bosnia and Croatia in November 2021, highlighting how such interventions combine traditional humanitarianism with elements of “mobile commons.” While providing basic aid and engaging in advocacy, the mission also fosters informal transnational solidarity networks aimed at counter-mapping borderscapes and supporting unauthorized crossings. These practices, guided by principles of global equality, anti-racism, and freedom of movement, consciously seek to minimize structural hierarchies in interactions among local and international activists and people on the move.

By producing an ethnographic account of how these two paradigms—humanitarian aid and radical solidarity—intertwine in practice, this paper reveals how grassroots actors balance diverse values and tactics. The blending of heterogeneous practices reflects both participants’ varied ideological frameworks and the strategic need to navigate unfavorable power relations within the EU’s multi-actor, multi-layered governance of migration and borders.

Ultimately, this study offers insights into how the political philosophies underlying different forms of social action and the meanings associated by activists with core concepts —such as solidarity, humanitarianism, and resistance—are reshaped and transformed over time.