Introduction

There is continuing ethnic-cultural diversity in Flanders, with more and more people with a migration background living in the cities in particular, but gradually moving out to other parts of Flanders as well. Furthermore, the nature of this diversity has changed: we can now speak of ‘super-diversity’ (Vertovec, 2007; Maly et al, 2014). As country of origin and ethnicity are no longer sufficient to grasp diversity in society, super-diversity introduces a multidimensional perspective in which attention is given to the internal differentiation of ethno-cultural groups regarding language, gender, social class, migration channels, place of residence, religion, migration status, and so on. This then makes it impossible to speak in terms of ‘the’ migrant or ‘the’ foreigner.

In this chapter we analyse the relationship between super-diversity and solidarity. Quite a few sociologists are profoundly pessimistic about the possibility of fostering solidarity in ethno-culturally heterogeneous societies (see, for example, Putnam, 2007), arguing that ethno-cultural diversity impedes the development of solidarity in both informal networks and national structures of redistribution. These kinds of analyses frequently lead to policy pleas for cultural integration and assimilation, in which the idea of one territory, one community and one culture is pushed forward. In this chapter, we argue that solidarity in diversity is possible. We seek this solidarity, however, elsewhere than in the traditional spatial and time registers of the nation-state. Instead of grounding solidarity in a shared history and homogeneous culture, we look for solidarity in the here-and-now of specific practices in particular places.

As a concept, solidarity is strongly linked to the search for social order (Silver, 1994). This raises the question of whether new forms of solidarity in diversity have an integrative or a transformative effect. On the one hand, practices of solidarity imply the integration of super-diverse groups in already existing social structures and relationships, while on the other hand, practices of solidarity can actually lead to a transformation of these social structures and relationships.

We explore the potential of solidarity in diversity based on an extensive case study in Rabot-Blaisantvest, a super-diverse and poor neighbourhood in Ghent. We put forward two research questions.