Dekolonialt socialt arbete: om relationen mellan gräsrotsrörelser och kritiskt socialt arbete i den urbana periferin

The purpose of this article is to identify and analyze the conditions and strategies for creatinga critical and decolonial social work in the urban periphery. IIn this article we explore Save theChildren’s program ”On equal terms”, that during the past decade created a space for local mobilizationin several areas in Sweden, with the purpose of resolving communal problems. The articleidentifies three elements as central for their critical social work: the empowerment of a newgeneration of social organizers grounded in the urban periphery; the forming of alliances for thepurpose of developing new languages and strategies to address problems and solutions in alternativeways; and the construction of counter-publics through the appropriation of space for theestablishment of citizen-driven meeting places. Through these strategies and conditions, a decolonialsocial work was formed. Inspired by theories of resistance and mobilization, we interpret thework of ”On equal terms” as an expression of the politics of public-making and border work thattranscends the separation between activism and social work, giving space for new alternatives andhorizons.