States of Solidarity: How to Build a Society

This timely and original monograph reclaims solidarity as a dynamic and generative social force. It explores how practices of mutual support, rooted in shared experiences and goals, can restore trust and cohesion in fragmented societies. Rather than reducing solidarity to charity or moral duty, it understands it as a deeply political practice that empowers people to shape their collective lives.

Bringing conceptual clarity and empirical insight to bear, States of Solidarity addresses three of the defining challenges of our time-environmental crisis, democratic erosion in economic governance, and digital transformations with the proliferation of artificial intelligence-through the lens of solidaristic institutions and relationships. It shows how hegemonic narratives and technocratic complexity often obstruct collective action, but also how grassroots movements and inclusive practices can reinvigorate democratic life.

The book ends with a powerful vision of the ‘good state’ in the 21st century-one that nurtures solidaristic ties, prioritises care and economic justice, and equips societies to thrive in conditions of uncertainty. States of Solidarity invites readers to engage in a bold reimagining of what our political and economic systems could become, and why we must act together to build them.