ERC FUNDED PROJECTS

Contemporary global developments in work and employment are transforming labour and reshaping relations between workers, creating new webs of interconnection across the world. This research programme aims to radically revise the foundational concept of the division of labour , by situating traditional understandings of the technical allocation of tasks within an expanded theoretical framework. Two additional dimensions of differentiation and interdependency of work activities are proposed, namely across socio-economic modes (market, non-market, etc.) and across the economic processes of production, distribution, exchange, and preparation for consumption. The approach will be developed by opening up a new research terrain of consumption work : all work undertaken by consumers necessary for the purchase, use, re-use and disposal of consumption goods. The work of consumers is shaped by its interdependency with that of providers, and vice versa, so providing a key to route to understanding the overall dynamics and variety of changing worlds of work. Three contrasting empirical probes are chosen for the questions each raises about consumption work and its increasing socio-economic importance: domestic broadband installation, food preparation and household recycling of waste. Analysis will centre for each on the varying nature of the interface and interaction between consumption work and systems of provision in five comparator countries (UK, Sweden, France, Taiwan, Korea) selected for their contrasting socio-economies. The research programme is global, comparative and historical, making a significant scientific and policy contribution, by advancing comprehension of key processes of ongoing socio-economic change, and establishing consumption work as a new field of enquiry.

810 437 €

Start date: 2010-04-01, End date: 2013-12-31

Human rights are under pressure, in Europe as elsewhere, due to several developments, namely [1] War on terror: the pressures generated by competing discourses [2] Coping with the dangers of rights inflation [3] Conflicting rights: how to handle rights as contested claims [4] The challenges of dealing with universality under fire In this context, the human rights leadership of the European Court of Human Rights is of crucial importance. Yet the Court is not fit for purpose. Inconsistencies and sloppy legal reasoning undermine both its credibility and the impact of its decisions. The research programme that I propose will strengthen the consistency and persuasiveness of Court s legal reasoning so as to improve its accountability and transparency. My aim is to identify new technical solutions for important human rights problems, by the development and application of creative methodologies. The substantive innovations within the field of European human rights law that I propose to make are: [a] the development of new legal tools, which will consistently integrate the accommodation of the particularities of non-dominant groups into the reasoning of the European Court of Human Rights [b] the development of a new theoretical framework combining minimum and maximum approaches to human rights protection, followed by its translation into clear legal criteria for use by the European Court of Human Rights [c] the development of a script that will enable the adoption of a consistent approach by the European Court of Human Rights to conflicts between human rights My methodological approach is characterized by the combination of empirical and normative dimensions, a 360° comparison, and the integration of qualitative research methods (interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders).

1 370 000 €

Start date: 2009-11-01, End date: 2014-10-31

How successful are current initiatives at furthering a fairer globalization? Employing women’s equitable integration into the labor market as a paradigmatic case, this proposal suggests ways to examine the impact of global governance structures on key labor market and other indicators. Research in this project so far has shown that for an adequate assessment of women’s equity it is not sufficient to merely look at their labor market position but an examination of indicators such as political participation, physical integrity and reproductive rights is now integrated. Triangulating quantitative and qualitative methodologies on the macro-, meso- and micro- levels of aggregation, this research addresses three current world society lacunas: (1) Implementation: On the country level, quantitative data assess the impact of international norms from 1958 to 2005 on key labor market indicators of women relative to those of men: differences in unemployment rates by professions and gender wage differentials in the manufacturing sector descriptively. The data also tracks the trade-off that women make between fertility and labor market participation in the non-agricultural sectors analytically. (2) Mechanisms: On the organizational level, qualitative interviews in four countries illuminate how world norms stipulated by the United Nations and world regional norms put forth by the Organizations of American States are adapted and utilized by social movement actors in Latin America: Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. In addition, to interviewing governmental representatives and social movement actors in non-governmental organizations as originally foreseen, I interviewed the heads of the Inter-American Court and key personnel in the Inter-American Commission. Relevant legal documents are currently being coded as these legal decisions and recommendations proved to be a key mechanism for the evolution of discriminated groups, particularly women. (3) Diversity: On the individual level, large quantitative household data analyze differences within nations regarding gender equity attitudes and their (un)intended labor market and fertility effects in Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. This analysis is now supplemented by analyzing the other key socio-structural and attitudinal dimensions of gender equity such as political participation, physical integrity and reproductive rights.

1 090 409 €

Start date: 2009-12-01, End date: 2016-11-30

The central research question of our project is: what impact does the increasingly non-liberal orientation of the government of the Russian Federation have on the Russian doctrine and practice of international law? As the West and Russia hope to further build their relationship on international law, is it still the same international law that they are talking about? We aim to provide systematic empirical evidence on the use and conceptualization of international law in the Russian Federation. But we intend to go further than that. The project has also a wider theoretical ambition since we intend to analyze the situation in Russia as an example of something beyond Russia itself, namely from the viewpoint of the question of how non-liberal States understand and practice international law. Whether non-liberal States 'behave worse' in respect to international law than liberal States is one of the most important debates in the post-Cold War international legal theory. To combine these two questions - Russia and how non-liberal States relate to international law - promises ground-breaking new insights. Our method includes, beside obvious classical tools of international legal research, using IR theories of constructivism and liberalism. Moreover, we will conduct interviews with Russian judges, politicians and legal academicians in order to get a more nuanced and realistic view on the conceptualization and use of international law in Russia. Besides the PI, the research team includes two post-doc scholars at the Faculty of Law of Tartu University. Three doctoral student positions are also foreseen in the project.

500 000 €

Start date: 2009-09-01, End date: 2014-08-31