In the later half of 2015 and early 2016, over a million refugee-migrants made their way to European borders. Further, the Arab Spring and the Syrian civil war in the backyard of Europe saw an increase in the numbers of people fleeing and displaced from 2011 onwards.

The national and EU reception infrastructure and EU asylum system were not prepared to receive such numbers of people seeking protection. In response, a large number of grassroots initiatives and volunteer movements were rapidly launched across Europe.

This special issue of Intersections. East European Journal of Society and Politics explores these grassroots responses to mass migration in Europe. The special issue includes open access articles on provincialising everyday volunteer practices at European borders, grassroots responses to the pushbacks at the fringes of EU, as well as insights into border violence, asylum, and racism at the Moria camp in Greece.

The introduction to this special issue is authored by Carna Brkovic (University of Goettingen), NCHS Director Antonio De Lauri (Chr. Michelsen Institute) and Sabine Hess.

Intersections. East European Journal of Society and Politics is an Open Access, double blind peer-reviewed online journal.