This subproject aims at highlighting tensions in European ideals of justice and fairness from the perspective of groups who experience or are vulnerable to injustice. By accounting for the contextualised ‘lived experiences’ of (in)justice, the study brings to the fore non-hegemonic claims to justice expressed by disadvantaged groups and individuals. It rests on an assumption that the ‘lived experience’ of injustice is by no means homogeneous – how vulnerable categories experience injustice (e.g. as misrecognition of as maldistribution) may differ not only per sphere of justice (economic, social, political and civil/symbolic), but also per category of the vulnerable.  After all, each of the countries involved in ETHOS has developed its own model to balance and incorporate interests of various groups of the population (the young, the old, women, ethnic and religious minorities, recent migrants and asylum seekers) and to define and deal with the ‘insiders-outsider’ divide. While the study takes the perspective of the vulnerable, it avoids a focus on victimhood, emphasising agency. The project promotes debate and discussion among those experiencing injustice and the broader public, about the challenges and opportunities that their experiences pose for Europe.

Leading partner: UoB/UU; leading researchers: ­Bridget Anderson/Trudie Knijn