ETHOS: Towards the European THeory Of juStice and fairness

ETHOS investigates the normative underpinnings and practical realisation in Europe of four domains of justice: social, economic, political, and civil and symbolic. To achieve this, the project will explore: (a) philosophical and political tradition, (b) legal frameworks, (c) daily (bureaucratic) practices, (d) current public debates, and (e) accounts of vulnerable populations in six European countries (the Netherlands, the UK, Hungary, Austria, Portugal and Turkey).

The ETHOS project seeks to provide building blocks for the development of an empirically informed European theory of justice by: refining and deepening knowledge of historical and contemporary European foundations of justice; enhancing awareness of mechanisms that impede the realisation of justice in contemporary Europe; advancing our understanding of the process of drawing and re-drawing of the boundaries of justice (fault lines); and providing guidance to politicians, policy makers, advocates and other stakeholders on how to design and implement policies to reverse inequalities and prevent injustice.