Abstract

ABSTRACT This essay analyzes the affective and intimate dimensions of the criminalization of solidarity towards migrants. The core argument is that the criminalization of solidarity is a form of governance that acts through affectivity. It is mainly a way of containing migration by trying to govern the emotions of citizens, fostering feelings of hostility and fear while discouraging feelings of solidarity and empathy. The data that will be discussed comes from broader ethnographic research, investigating the affective transformations in solidarity networks supporting migrants. Data collection took place between 2020 and 2021 in Turin and Florence, Italy. It will be shown how, in the everyday life of supporters, the most pervasive forms of criminalization do not come from political discourse, but rather from the people to whom they are most attached (friends, partners, siblings, parents, etc.). This is the intimacy of criminalization. The situated, vernacular, and more socio-psychologically painful form of criminalization.

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