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“What do you mean by that?”: solidarity in Canadian development practice

Sophia Boutilier (Department of Sociology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA) (Department of Sociology, California State University Fresno, Fresno, California, USA)

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy

ISSN: 0144-333X

Article publication date: 18 September 2024

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Abstract

Purpose

With the launch of the Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), the Canadian government named solidarity as a shared value and a driving motivation behind the FIAP. This paper explores how development workers understand and apply solidarity to their work, uncovering the opportunities and constraints they face.

Design/methodology/approach

In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 development workers from Canada’s federal development agency between 2019 and 2020. Transcribed data were coded by the author to identify how workers made sense of solidarity within the development industry.

Findings

The majority of workers were unsure of how to define or operationalize solidarity, demonstrating confusion. Commonality was routinely mentioned as a facet of solidarity, but workers understood this term in diverse ways, with some considering commonality as a precondition that inhibited a sense of solidarity with development partners in the global South due to differences in living conditions. About a quarter identified power and privilege as necessary considerations in the process of building solidarity, showing potential for bonds across the inequalities that define development. About 40% of workers identified the institutional structure of the organization as an obstacle to solidarity.

Originality/value

This paper presents original data from Canadian development workers, providing the first study of their understanding of solidarity as a development ethic. It shows the gaps between rhetoric and practice while recommending ways for development organizations to meaningfully engage with solidarity in their work.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Kathleen Fallon, Daniel Levy, Nicholas Wilson and Barbara Heron for their support and insights as well as the Editor and anonymous reviewers at the International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy. This research was funded by PEO International through the P.E.O. Scholar Award Program and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Award #752-2018-0365.

Citation

Boutilier, S. (2024), "“What do you mean by that?”: solidarity in Canadian development practice", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-01-2024-0041

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

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