Transnational solidarity (hardcover)

‘Transnational solidarity’ excavates the forgotten histories of solidarity that were vital to radical political imaginaries during the ‘long’ 1960s. It decentres the conventional Western focus of this critical historical moment by foregrounding transnational solidarity with, and across, anticolonial and anti-imperialist liberation struggles. The book traces the ways in which solidarity was conceived, imagined and enacted in the border crossings ― of nation, race and class identifications ― made by grassroots activists. This diverse collection draws links between exiled revolutionaries in Uruguay, post-colonial migrants in Britain, and Greek communist refugees in East Germany, who campaigned for their respective causes from afar while identifying and linking up with liberation struggles in Vietnam and the Gulf, and with civil rights movements elsewhere. Meanwhile, Arab migrants in France, Pakistani volunteers and Iraqi artists found myriad ways to express solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Neglected archives also reveal Tricontinental Cuban-based genealogies of artistic militancy, as well as stories of anticolonial activist networks in North America, Italy, the Netherlands and Sudan forging connections with freedom fighters attempting to overthrow Portuguese colonial rule in Africa. These entwined routes of the sixties chart a complex map of transnational political recognition and radical interconnections. Bringing together original research with contributions from veteran activists and artists, this interdisciplinary volume explores how transnational solidarity was expressed in and carried through the itineraries of migrants and revolutionaries, film and print cultures, art and sport, political campaigns and armed struggle. It presents a novel perspective on radical politics of the global sixties which remains crucial to understanding anti-racist solidarity today.