Introduction
The concept of a Solidarity City imagines an inclusive urban space where all residents, regardless of legal status, background, or identity, can fully participate in public life without fear of deportation, marginalisation, or exclusion. This vision contrasts sharply with dominant state frameworks that often restrict access to rights based on citizenship or immigration status.
Prof Harald Bauder, a scholar at Toronto Metropolitan University and a leading voice in critical migration studies, presented this vision during a seminar hosted by hosted by the University of Cape Town Migration and Mobility Hub and the Southern Africa Migration Network (SAMIN) on 5 May 2025. Bauder spearheads the Soli*City project, an international partnership exploring how cities across the globe engage in migrant solidarity. Drawing inspiration from Toronto’s Sanctuary City initiative, he recognised similar efforts in U.S. and European cities, ultimately leading to a collaborative project that reimagines municipal responses to precarious migration.
Challenging State Sovereignty Through Local Solidarity
At the heart of Bauder’s presentation was a compelling juxtaposition between state sovereignty and urban solidarity. State sovereignty, he argued, is a Eurocentric and colonial construct- a political framework that defines who has access to rights, territory, and mobility. This model relies on fixed borders and exclusionary logic rooted in the Westphalian state system.
In contrast, migrant solidarity movements, often rooted in working-class and anti-colonial struggles, forge connections among people across differing legal statuses and social positions. Rather than enforcing borders, these urban movements work to dismantle them, embracing shared humanity over state-imposed divisions.
The Soli*City Project
The Soli*City initiative brings together municipalities and community actors from around the world who are resisting restrictive national migration policies. These sanctuary and solidarity cities develop locally rooted, evidence-based policy frameworks that seek to accommodate precarious migrants through inclusive, bottom-up governance.
A key example shared by Prof Bauder was the City Plaza Hotel in Athens, Greece. This former hotel, closed in 2010, was occupied in 2016 by refugees and activists and transformed into a self-organised space of solidarity. It offered not just shelter, but also a vision of community-based migration governance- highlighting the role of grassroots organising in filling the gaps left by state systems.
Post-Colonial Reflections from Africa
Prof Bauder also reflected on the dynamics of migration and statehood in post-colonial African contexts. While Pan-Africanism once promised cross-border unity, contemporary realities often reproduce exclusionary logics of sovereignty. For instance, in South Africa, the state and some local governments replicate Westphalian practices of exclusion, even at the municipal level. Despite this, many migrants continue to embrace identities and solidarities that are transnational and Pan-African in nature.
Conclusion
Prof Bauder’s presentation highlighted the urgent need to rethink migration governance beyond the constraints of state sovereignty. In his conclusion he raised questions to the audience which prompted some insightful discussions regarding solidarity in South Africa. By foregrounding the experiences and practices of solidarity cities, particularly in the Global South, the Soli*City project offers a powerful alternative rooted in inclusion, justice, and local agency. In doing so, it challenges us to imagine cities not just as administrative units, but as spaces of resistance, refuge, and radical possibility.