Solidarity action or spontaneous solidarity: case studies in Sicily and the Basque Country

According to McCarthy and Zald (1977), collective groups demonstrate a well-circumscribed structure if the internal coordination appears organized and defined; however, no such configuration would exist if these groups were to be formed as a result of emergency issues (Simsa, 2019). This is the case of the Sicilia Aperta e Solidale network, which arose to counter the operation of some CPRs that discriminated against migrants; the Ongi Etorri Errefuxiatuak network has also taken action in the Basque Country to oppose some inhumane policies of the Euskadi government, such as the introduction of the Ley de Extranjería. The contextual comparison between the work of Sicilia Aperta e Solidale and Ongi Etorri Errefuxiatuak will allow for an analysis of the process of spontaneous solidarity (Matthiesen, 2020) in relation to networks of prosocial activism, and will also answer some theoretical-empirical questions: (1) What are the characteristics of networks that arise spontaneously (Boersma, 2018)? (2) Is it possible to detect political factors in members’ actions, or if even they identify with the issues experienced by migrants (Shulte et al., 2020)? (3) Do these networks continue to be operative after the original emergency case has been resolved? (Harris, 2017). Considering the spontaneity-prosociality relationship, the analysis performed will help us determine whether the data that emerge confirm what the spontaneous solidarity scholars reported, or whether there are any other significant features.