Solidarity in Practice: Moral Protest and the US Security State

by Chandra Russo

Overview

Cross-border solidarity has captured the interest and imagination of scholars, activists and a range of political actors in such contested areas as the US-Mexico border and Guantanamo Bay. Chandra Russo examines how justice-seeking solidarity drives activist communities contesting US torture, militarism and immigration policies. Through compelling and fresh ethnographic accounts, Russo follows these activists as they engage in unusual and high risk forms of activism (fasting, pilgrimage, civil disobedience). She explores their ideas of solidarity and witnessing, which are central to how the activists explain their activities. This book adds to our understanding of solidarity activism under new global arrangements, and illuminates the features of movement activity that deepen activists' commitment by helping their lives feel more humane, just and meaningful. Based on participant observation, interviews, surveys and hundreds of courtroom statements, Russo develops a new theorization of solidarity that will take a central place in social movement studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108460996
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/15/2018
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics
Pages:	220
Product dimensions:	6.02(w) x 8.94(h) x 0.51(d)

About the Author

Chandra Russo is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Colgate University, New York, where she teaches courses in social movements, activism and anti-racism. Before earning her Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, she spent several years working on immigrant justice issues in New York State, Central Mexico and Colorado. Her research and writing on these matters has been published in numerous venues, including Mobilization, Race & Class, Interface, and the Denver Post.

Table of Contents

1. 'Not free to be completely human'; 2. 'I'm ruined for life!' Witnessing empire; 3. Ritual protest as testimony; 4. The visceral logics of embodied resistance; 5. Ascetic practice and prefigurative community; 6. The complications of solidarity witness; 7. 'Knowing things impossible to un-know'.

Editorial Reviews

'Chandra Russo shows how activists use prayer, pilgrimages, fasting, and time in jail to express themselves politically. Their witness, through sacrifice, dramatizes important issues and deepens the activist commitment to change. Solidarity in Practice is bold and gripping, and particularly timely.' David S. Meyer, University of California, Irvine, and author of The Politics of Protest: Social Movements in America

'Whether Democrats like Barack Obama or Republicans like Donald J. Trump are President, the United States government carries out atrocities inside its borders and, especially, around the world. Yet few Americans are aware of what their government does every day in their name. Read this fascinating book to find out how brave protestors are trying to change that ignorance.' James M. Jasper, The City University of New York, and author of The Art of Moral Protest: Culture, Biography, and Creativity in Social Movements

'Chandra Russo explores the practice of solidarity witness in movements dealing with border justice, torture, and human rights abuses. In a rich exploration of ritual protest, fasting, pilgrimages, and civil disobedience, Russo captures the power of such embodied resistance. More importantly, she offers a provocative reflection on potential problems in this style of activism, particularly regarding issues of privilege and inclusion.' Sharon Erickson Nepstad, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, University of New Mexico

'Solidarity in Practice is a model of politically and ethically engaged scholarship. Vividly tracing the practices of 'solidarity witness', Russo challenges narrow definitions of the political and shows how activists use ritual and embodiment to create a sense of emotional connection to migrants, prisoners at Guantanamo, and victims of torture. Packed with compelling stories of activists’ experiences, the book paints a rich picture of a central vein of American progressive politics. At a moment when repressive action by the US is growing, Russo’s timely analysis is crucial for all who hope to understand the wide range of forms that resistance can take.' Nancy Whittier, Sophia Smith Professor of Sociology, Smith College, Massachussetts, and author of Frenemies: Feminists, Conservative, and Sexual Violence

'In this carefully researched, beautifully written, and persuasively argued book, Chandra Russo explores the motivations, achievements, and shortcomings of networks of solidarity. Solidarity in Practice is a tour de force of social movement scholarship, a book that exposes the limits of conventional and traditional forms of social protest, while advancing and analyzing the new forms that are emerging out of the wrenching contradictions of our time.' George Lipsitz, University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics

'Chandra Russo's Solidary in Practice is a triumph of the head and the heart, the intellect and moral passion. Combining her role as an 'observing participant' in the protest groups she studies with her prodigious gifts as a sociological theorist, Russo conveys the logic, spirit, and rugged determination of activists resisting new formations of state violence. Her central term - solidarity witness - captures both the power and limits of this activism, while illuminating the great moral conflicts of our troubled times.' Jeremy Varon, The New School for Social Research, New York

‘Russo (Colgate) draws on observant participation, interviews, and documents to describe three organizations involved in what she calls 'solidarity witness', efforts to call attention to a perceived moral wrong by acts of physical resistance … She asks why people chose to do these things, why they persist with little hope of changing policies, and what these actions tell us about theories of contentious politics, given the disproportion of costs to rewards. Her rich analysis poses important theoretical questions about the theory of social movements while promoting a different form of activism. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.’ Choice

'Solidarity in Practice would serve well for a variety of audiences, from social movement scholars seeking to reimagine how we define success to instructors introducing graduate students to transnational social movements.' Jessie K. Finch, Mobilization

‘Russo’s book is gripping, timely, and ethnographically rich. In addition to making a solid contribution to the social movement literature, the comparative and ethnographic nature of her book serves scholars, students, ethnographers, activists, and movement groups. This is no small task, and Russo should be praised for the accessibility of her research.’ Jane Schuchert Walsh, American Journal of Sociology

‘… this book provides a great read in troubling times for those interested in social movements, politics, high-risk activism, or social solidarity. It will appeal to students as well as seasoned scholars in these fields.’ Bernadette Nadya Jaworsky, Contemporary Sociology

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