Solidarity initiatives in Denmark, Hungary and Scotland compared

The research project SOLIDUS on solidarity in Europe strengthened CPS research network in the field of solidarity and social economy studies. A new article in ‘VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations’ is the result of cooperation between three partner institutions in the research project. The article argues that closer attention to how solidarity is understood and expressed in different European contexts can shed light on the conditions for establishing a social and solidarity economy.

The comparative analysis covers three social economy initiatives, each representing a country with different political and economic context. The analysis focuses on solidarity as reciprocity and, in particular, how it is affected by such factors as actor motivations, internal participatory functioning, resource mix and political legitimacy. While further empirical work is needed, the findings suggest that solidarity as reciprocity produced by social and solidarity economy organisations thrives where political institutions are both supportive and trusted, where public funding is accessible, and where partnerships with relatively autonomous social and solidarity economy organisations are genuinely collaborative.

The article is available through open access here.