Pro-migrant protest in times of COVID-19: intersectional boundary spanning and hybrid protest practices

Abstract

Public policies implemented to flatten the curve of COVID-19 infections created unprecedented challenges for social movements. Most striking was the de facto temporary suspension of the right to assembly. Using the case of pro-migrant mobilizations in Germany as an example, we analyse how social movements are affected by and respond to this exceptional context. Instead of a breakdown, we find evidence for a proliferation of mobilization. This is surprising since COVID-19 related restraints were particularly accentuated for pro-migrant mobilizations. We argue that this puzzle can be explained by looking at the particular framing strategies and the hybrid online and offline protest practices used by activists. Integrating empirical insights of social movements in times of crisis, theoretical approaches to boundary spanning, intersectional frame bridging, and hybrid combinations of online and offline protest, our article provides an analysis of pro-migrant mobilizations in times of pandemic. It also sketches-out avenues for future research on plural alliance formation in diverse societies.

The impact of the coronavirus crisis on European societies. What have we learnt and where do we go from here? – Introduction to the COVID volume

“…While, on the one hand, crises tend to exacerbate negative conditions, inequalities, and competition between groups for scarce resources, they can also often inspire individuals and social groups to engage in remarkable acts of solidarity, mutual support and help, even in difficult conditions (Grasso and Giugni 2019; Koos 2019). Some papers in this special issue demonstrated the multiple ways in which people may look after each other, positively relying on social networks (Carlsen et al 2020), and mobilizing people in favor of migrants (Zajak et al 2020). One study from Italy (Moralli and Allegrini 2020) further discussed the potential for social innovation triggered by the pandemic when focusing on the mobilization of resources by people living in vulnerable areas.…”

Civic and Political Engagement during the Multifaceted COVID‐19 Crisis

“…Preliminary studies in political science explore how governments fare in solving this dilemma (e.g., Naumann et al 2020; Petherick et al 2020) or how citizens evaluate policy responses to this double health and economic threat posed by the pandemic (e.g., Bol et al 2020; Esaiasson et al 2020; Merkley 2020; Oana et al 2021; Schraff 2020). This research note takes a more ‘bottom‐up’ perspective and shifts the focus from government action to civil society and citizens’ involvement (for related case studies, see Carlsen et al 2020; Koos and Bertogg 2020; Zajak et al 2020). Specifically, we aim to contribute to the scholarly literature on political behaviour and engagement during crises by asking whether threats and grievances triggered by the first wave of the pandemic had a (de‐)mobilizing effect on citizens in seven west European countries: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.…”

Movimientos sociales y ayuda mutua frente a la pandemia

“…Por su parte en Europa, los voluntarios y las asociaciones han estado en primera línea para hacer frente a la epidemia del coronavirus. Mientras que la mayoría de los ciudadanos solo salían de sus hogares para comprar alimentos, los voluntarios se movilizaron para reabrir centros sociales autónomos donde acogieron a personas sin hogar (Cassilde 2020) y organizaron distribuciones de alimentos en los sectores populares y entre los migrantes (Zajak, Stjepandić y Steinhilper 2020).…”