‘The Kindness of Strangers’—Solidarity in International and EU Law An Introduction

The purpose of this introductory chapter is not to rehash the question of the normative value of solidarity in international and EU law—an issue which is treated in extenso in the chapters contained in the volume. Rather, we have found it more helpful to canvass here some more general thoughts pertaining to the ideologically charged context and presumptions underpinning current debates surrounding solidarity as well as to its relevance and the possible dangers of invoking it selectively on the international and EU law level—issues that have not been, in our view at least, adequately addressed in the literature. Against this backdrop, this chapter will begin by briefly mapping out the legal trajectory of solidarity in international and EU law. It will continue by sketching out some broader points regarding to the relevance as well as the possible pitfalls of the debate on solidarity in international and EU law, while the last section will provide an overview of the chapters in this volume.