Project description
A new theory of ethical decision-making in migration politics
Policymakers and civil society practitioners such as human rights advocates working on migration often face ethical dilemmas. However, there is little research on how they respond, and no clear theory explains their decision-making. The ERC-funded Ethics in Action project is examining solidarity practices involving irregular and precarious migrants, focusing on the ethical dilemmas faced by political actors. It will explore how these actors respond to dilemmas, the political and sociological factors influencing their choices and their impact on their political identities. At the same time it will compare decision-making among policymakers, labour unions and faith-based organisations across the Global North and South. The goal is to develop a new theory of ethical decision-making that expands our understanding of moral judgment beyond migration studies.
Objective
Policymakers and civil society actors in the migration field are often confronted with ethical dilemmas. Yet, no systematic comparative study exists of how these actors respond to ethical dilemmas in real-life circumstances, and we lack a theory to explain their decisions and assess their impact on the actors’ political identity. Focusing on actors engaged in solidarity practices with irregular and precarious migrants, which raise particularly acute dilemmas, MIGSOL therefore asks: When faced with ethical dilemmas, how do political actors respond, what political and sociological factors impact their responses, and with what effects on their political identity?
By asking this question, the project breaks with traditional approaches to value-based conflicts in politics by shifting the object of study from conflicts between different moral visions (e.g. supporters vs opponents of open borders) to the internal contradictions that arise within the same moral vision. Shifting the perspective in this way opens a whole new agenda for empirical research and calls for a different approach to theorizing the role of values in migration politics.
MIGSOL’s political sociology approach to migration ethics innovates by placing the spotlight on the nuanced normative reasoning that political actors engage in when they navigate through ethical dilemmas. This approach will be implemented through a global comparative study of dilemmatic decision-making on migrant solidarity by 5 types of actors—national policymakers, local policymakers, labor unions, faith-based organizations and facilitators of movement—in 10 locations that cut through the Global North/South divide.
Based on this ambitious global comparison, MIGSOL will break new ground by pioneering an empirically grounded theory of decision-making under dilemmatic circumstances, which will be of relevance to all those interested in understanding the determinants of moral judgement, well beyond the field of migration studies.
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Keywords
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
3500 KREMS
Austria
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.