Solidarity: Conceptual Complexity

The focus of this chapter is a critical overview of existing theories and empirical accounts of the concept of solidarity. The problem this concept poses in the social theory is discussed extensively: its elusiveness and heterogeneity of meaning on the one hand, and its relatively under-researched and somewhat neglected status in moral philosophy, political philosophy, and social theory on the other hand. The term was also analysed as an essentially contested concept (Gallie, 1956: 167–198) providing the reasons for the complexity of the term and explanation for the predominant ineffectiveness of unambiguous definitions. The conditions a word needs to fulfil in order to be essentially contested provide a useful set of aspects and elements to consider, which are later incorporated into the empirical study. Finally, some earlier accounts and ideas of solidarity are presented, including an overview of existing definitions of the concept. These previous ideas of solidarity are juxtaposed with one another and put into two broad categories: the micro perspective on solidarity, which treats it as a form of interaction between individuals or groups, and the macro perspective, in which solidarity acts as a force of social integration, a glue that holds the society together. This serves as the mapping of the semantic field of the concept and provides theoretical frames for solidarity already proposed in literature, which are later used in the empirical part.