Notes on the alternative geopolitics of Solidarity and Cooperation Economy

Abstract

Scholarly work typically employs the term “geopolitics” to describe a theoretical focus on the behavior, relations, and competitions among states. However, this term is largely state-centered, emphasizing state power and its maximization through national consolidation, and ultimately undermining the interests of human subjects and the planet itself. In this article, we take a critical approach that utilizes the framework of political geography to develop an alternative perspective on collective action, drawing from the world justice movement. Specifically, we argue that the Solidarity and Cooperation Economy (SCE) represents a field that generates alternative geopolitics through the context of solidarity. We examine how the SCE brings together communities that may be geographically distant from one another, thereby expressing a distinctive geopolitical viewpoint. To illustrate this point, we analyze the case of “Syn Allois,” an employee association in Athens, and the “Second Euromediterranean Workers’ Economy Meeting” that was held in Thessaloniki in 2016.