On 20 June, the European Research Council (ERC) funded research project ‘Protecting the Right to Culture of Persons with Disabilities and Enhancing Cultural Diversity through European Union Law: Exploring New Paths – DANCING’ hosted the fifth edition of their series DANCING Academic Conversations.
The DANCING team welcomed Professor Mariolina Eliantonio from Maastricht University, Professor Emilia Korkea-aho from the University of Eastern Finland and Professor Ulrika Mӧrth from Stockholm University to present and discuss their recent co-edited volume ‘Research Handbook on Soft Law’ (Edward Elgar 2023).
After an introduction to the series, topic and speakers by Professor Delia Ferri, the three co-editors presented the structure and approach to the volume, the choices made in terms of conceptualisation(s) of soft law and academic disciplines included as well as which aspects are not currently included in the volume. As the editors emphasised, the volume is a reflection of current state-of-the-art research on soft law which allows to gauge where further research might be beneficial to elaborate and advance the understanding of soft law. At present it emerges that soft law is a very diverse concept used in different disciplines including a diversity of notions within each discipline. Despite some critical views, soft law appears to either be an instrument in the regulatory toolbox for decision-makers or a forum for deliberation and learning. However, the volume also suggests avenues for future research covering both themes such as the distributional, moral and ethical effects of soft law on divided societies and methods to study soft law, with an emphasis on more interdisciplinarity and empirical research to advance the field.
The talk was followed by an engaged and thought-provoking discussion between attendees and the speakers on several of the issues raised and dimensions of soft law. The DANCING team were delighted to welcome attendees from the School of Law and Criminology at Maynooth University and from other institutions further afield in Europe to this blended edition of the DANCING Academic Conversations series.
The ERC DANCING project is based at the School of Law and Criminology and the Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute at Maynooth University and is led by Principal Investigator Professor Delia Ferri.
Professor Ferri is Professor of Law and Co-Director of the ALL Institute at Maynooth University.
