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Paper short abstract

Using affect as an analytical lens, this paper explores how emotions such as guilt, anger and exhaustion shape the forging of solidarity, tracing how political belonging, care and boundary-making emerge in contexts of ongoing border violence.

Paper long abstract

This paper draws on my ongoing fieldwork in the EU/Moroccan borderland exploring the affective arrangements of solidarity within the No Border Network—an autonomous social movement that opposes border regimes, supports migrants, and aims to prefigure horizontal relationships with them. I examine how emotions such as anger, guilt, and despair, as well as joy, hope, and affection, shape political identities, collective action, personal well-being, and interpersonal relationships.

The paper traces how both the utopian vision of horizontality and the critical reflection of existing asymmetries of privilege evoke strong emotions that influence political practice, relationships, and well-being. My research shows that activists of European descent often adopt self-sacrificial practices and weak boundaries in attempts to “make up” for Europe’s colonial history and border regimes. Working in the context of ongoing border violence also evokes what my interlocutors call “dystopian feelings,” in which even moments of joy are shadowed by cynicism and the weight of injustice. These complex emotional experiences can foster intimacy and solidarity but also provoke conflict, withdrawal, and burnout.

The paper pays particular attention to how activists negotiate emotions tied to privilege, including shame and guilt, and how these feelings shape practices of care, boundary-setting, and political belonging, while mental health struggles emerge as shared concerns and collective reflection.

By foregrounding the affective dimensions of activism, the paper argues that emotions are not merely responses to political conditions, but active forces that sustain collective struggle and shape emergent solidarities.