Radical Hearts Exploring Affective Threads of Internationalist Feminist Movements in Spite of Systemic Violence

The PhD project explores different threads of affective relations within internationalist feminist social movements and to what extent this relates to a new form of intersectional, prefigurative practice of movement-building. As such, it interrogates how we can move from an isolated narrative of identities towards a political struggle, taking into account the complexities of interlocking systems of oppression. Internationalist feminist movements spearhead intersectional thinking as they centre revolutionary love, a more-than-romantic feeling of relation based on a common vision for liberation.

The Palestine solidarity movement is a poignant point of departure for studying solidarity and love in social movements, as these frames are deeply engrained in the Palestinian struggle. Recent efforts to provide a feminist perspective in these protests and building trans-territorial and intersectional coalitions have contributed to establishing the movement as a cornerstone of liberatory organising. At the same time, the movement, especially in Germany, is exposed to increasing state and police violence which relates to the specific historical context as well as a general authoritarian turn in global politics. Correspondingly, the fieldwork will focus on how internationalist feminist movements in Berlin, Germany engage in love and solidarity despite violence and how this creates a new form of affective organising.

In this context, the thesis advocates for a deeper understanding of affective ties in social movements as transformative tools against systemic violence and capitalist alienation. Through long-term ethnographic fieldwork and participatory methods, the project looks at the possibilities and challenges of building affective bonds within and across movements. Here, emotions between activists and their networks build the groundwork for exploring the larger process of building an international feminist movement for liberation from imperialism and capitalism.