Equals in solidarity: Orfanotrofio’s housing squat as a site for political subjectification across differences amid the “Greek crisis”

Karaliotas, L. and Kapsali, M. (2021) Equals in solidarity: Orfanotrofio’s housing squat as a site for political subjectification across differences amid the “Greek crisis”. Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography, 53(2), pp. 399-421. (doi: 10.1111/anti.12653)

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Abstract

This article engages with the political struggles staged by illegalised migrants and activists in solidarity amid the long summer of migration and the “Greek crisis”. Grounding its analysis on Orfanotrofio’s housing squat in Thessaloniki, it narrates how such struggles are articulated to politicise migration and stage the equality of newcomers—migrants and refugees—and locals. Drawing on Jacques Rancière’s political writings and contemporary geographical work on solidarity, the article argues that such struggles not only disrupt the exclusionary ordering of our cities but also construct political spaces and infrastructures of dissensus wherein equals in solidarity discuss common political problems and devise common political strategies. Through the notion of equals in solidarity, the article investigates how the performative enactment of equality can form the basis for solidarities across differences and analyses how some of the tensions that emerge around collective political subjectification are negotiated. Building on this, it explores some of the challenges and limitations that these struggles face in their efforts to transform the existing order of the city.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Karaliotas, Dr Lazaros
Authors: Karaliotas, L., and Kapsali, M.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
Journal Name:Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography
Publisher:Wiley
ISSN:0066-4812
ISSN (Online):1467-8330
Published Online:04 July 2020
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2020 The Authors
First Published:First published in Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography 53(2): 399-421
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons license

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