Work, values, hope in spaces of solidarity. The possibilities and limits of transformative solidarity in Hungary

Participants: Katalin Ámon, Fanni Dés, Judit Durst, Dóra Gábriel (CRES Institute for Regional Studies), Márton Gerő (CSS Institute of Sociology), Rita Glózer (University of Pécs), Ferenc Hain (ELTE), Noémi Katona (CSS Institute of Sociology), Fanni Maszlag, Eszter Neumann, Zsanna Nyírő, Attila Papp Z., Gergely Pulay, Ildikó Zakariás, Violetta Zentai (CEU), Csilla Zsigmond

Grant, funding agency: NKFI K-146630

Period: 2024-

Research questions and objectives:

The aim of this research is to find actors and spaces of social solidarity, to understand their ideas and practices, and their relevance to their social environments. The solidarity practices to be understood aim to support vulnerable social groups, on the one hand, and to address crisis and shortage situations in various social services, on the other. The research pays particular attention to the transformative effects of solidarity actions, which effects are examined in material-distributive, ideological-political and social-relational dimensions. All of these are examined in local contexts, where subtle webs of social relationships, power and dependency links, and political configurations can be closely observed and captured.

Full proposal

Research history:

Humanitarian assistance to refugees in Hungary

Solidarity as an answer to the crisis caused by the pandemic: actions and discourses

Helping Displaced People from Ukraine: Collective Forms and Social Contexts of solidarity

Publications:

Constrained Localism in an Authoritarian Environment: Developments in Solidarity With Displaced Ukrainians in Hungary. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2025.2499821 (Co-authors: ., Zakariás, I., Zentai, V., Zsigmond, C., & Neumann, E)

The Dilemmas of Solidarity of Civic Activists: Supporting Displaced Ukrainians in a Non‐Solidarian Regime. Social Inclusion, 13, Article 9151. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.9151 (Co-author: Zentai, V.)

Solidarity in Ethnically Diverse Contexts: Supportive Relations of First‐Generation Roma Graduates’ Social Mobility in Hungary. Social Inclusion, 2025/ 13, Article 9170. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.9170 (Co-authors: Durst, J., & Nyírő, Zs.)

Solidarity work, duty to care, and commoning during the pandemic crisis. Intersections. East European Journal of Society and Politics. 10, 3 (Jan. 2025), 179–198. DOI:https://doi.org/10.17356/ieejsp.v10i3.1298. (Co-author: Zentai, V.)

Lokális fordulat a szolidaritásban: Lehetőségek és kényszerek az ukrajnai menekültek befogadásában. [Local Turn in Solidarity: Opportunities and Constraints in the Reception of Refugees from Ukraine] Socio.Hu Társadalomtudományi Szemle, 14(4), 2–21. https://doi.org/10.18030/socio.hu.2024.4.2 (Co.authors: Zsigmond, C., Zakariás, I., Zentai, V., & Neumann, E. )