Ambivalent intersectional solidarity: Berlin’s LGBTIQ+ civil society alliances during the war in Ukraine

Abstract In this paper, we examine the formation and evolution of intersectional solidarity among LGBTIQ+ civil society organizations in Berlin responding to the war in Ukraine. Drawing on qualitative interviews with representatives from twelve organizations, we analyze how these groups mobilized to support queer Ukrainian refugees. Our theoretical contribution lies in advancing the concept of ambivalent intersectional solidarity, which captures the tensions and exclusions that arise even within seemingly unified solidarity efforts. We argue that solidarity cannot be assumed to be inherently inclusive simply because actors share one or more axes of identity (e.g., queerness). Instead, we show how intersectionality—as both a lived experience and an analytic lens—reveals the contested nature of solidarity in contexts marked by historical trauma and geopolitical asymmetries.