Research

The capacity of the law to prevent and combat prejudice is one of the means by which modern democracies seek to combat hate.

This theme address hate on its continuum, and explores ways in which the legal system can or should be harnessed to prevent and address hate speech, hate crime, and extremism. There are a number of strands to our work in this theme including:   

Criminalising hate unpicks and explores the utility and potential forms of hate crime legislation, as well as the limitations of such legislation for addressing prejudice. 

AI and the perpetuation of hate examines the way in which artificial intelligence, and in particular, generative AI, can be used to promote, perpetuate, and generate hate, as well as the capacity of lawmakers to regulate same. 

The continuum of hate recognises that hate operates at a macro level through a global networks, at a meso level through institutionalised prejudice, and at a micro level by individuals, and explores ways in which these are recognised, regulated, and reformed. 

Public understandings of hate documents how the general population understand hate crime and its impacts, and develops policy responses to hate which draw upon the rich dataset collected through the Irish Research Council funded project. 

The Combating hate: legislation, policy, and practice page has more information about our work in this area.

Some of the people working in this area are: Luke Danagher, Lindsey Garratt, Niloufar Omidi, Deepak Reji, Jennifer Schweppe, and Gizem Yardimci.
 

The recognition of diverse identities, as well as their politicisation, and the production of injustice and inequalities are core themes to the work of SHINE. Our work is both theoretically grounded but also operates at the frontiers of policy and practice.  

We explore these issues across a range of strands including through the lens of labour in the public and private spheres; literary and cultural studies; education; politics and international relations; and criminal justice, including through an intersectional lens.  

We have considerable expertise in the social construction of gender and feminist theory, in particular where we explore issues as diverse as the domestic noir in fiction; critical military studies; domestic and gender-based violence; and racialised masculinities.  

Beyond this specific area of scholarship, we additionally explore identities and inequalities through the lens of social movements; collective memory; and colonial bias in AI.    

One of the major projects we have worked on as part of this theme is the Irish Travellers Access to Justice project. 

You can learn more about our work in this theme by going to our page, Identities, Injustice and Inequalities. 

In this theme, Borders and Migration, we look at the permeability of borders, which can be geographic and social, visible and invisible, and how borders can replicate and produce inequalities and human rights violations. We recognise that migration is experienced in a range of contexts, from desired mobility to forced displacement, and our work documents and understands lived experiences across the migration cycle, as well as normative developments.  

Emphasising the socio-economic consequences of migration, we document and explore the consequences of structural inequalities on migrants, the structures that govern migration, and the agency of migrants to engage with those systems and become rights-bearing members of new communities.  

Migration can be empowering, and a means by which individuals and groups can support social and economic growth, as well as promote cultural engagement across communities. As well as this, and while acknowledging the contested nature of the term ‘vulnerable’, migrant status can produce situational vulnerablity, both for those who experience forced migration but also those who are voluntary migrants. Migration thus is what we describe as ‘vulnerablising’ where groups with significant social capital can be subjected to discrimination when they cross borders; and those who part of the international protection system are further marginalised and vulnerablised.  

There are a number of strands to our work in this theme including: 

• Workplace inclusion explores how migrants experience integration and inclusion in post-COVID hybrid work environments; 

• Human rights of migrants and refugees  

• Formal and informal education with non-nationals 

Some of the people working in this area are: Stefano Angeleri, Suzanne Couloigner, Mary Masterson,  and Majka Ryan. 

You can learn more about our work in this theme by going to our page, Identities, Injustice and Inequalities.    

The strand, Young People in an Inclusive Society, sees young people as the key to unlocking more inclusive societies. Children and young people experience hate and inequalities in a range of ways, including through direct experiences but also intergenerational transmission of trauma.  

The experiences of young people are included across a number of themes of the work of SHINE, whether as migrants, as users of social media and technology, or as victims or suspects in criminal proceedings. This theme seeks to ensure that in all of our work, the experiences of young people are made visible and actively considered in all aspects of our research.  

Within this theme, we have a particular experise in the area of education. Our research operates across all levels of formal education, including primary, post-primary, and third level, and sees children and young people as rights-bearers and agents in their own educational journeys.  

We have a particular expertise in the area of curriculum development, where our work seeks to challenge the homogenity of curricula across primary, post-primary, and third level. In doing so, we seek to develop practices which support students to be reflective and reflexive in their learning, to be respectful and critical global citizens. 

Some of the people working in this tehem include Mary Masterson, Sarah Jay, Anca and Minescu. To find out more about our work in this area, you can contact SHINE@ul.ie. 

In the strand Sustainable Democracy: Resilience, Resistance, and Mobilisation, we look to understanding contemporary challenges which represent threats to our fundamental values of democracy and the rule of law, as well as means by which we can promote resilient and sustainable democracies.  

This strand examines the contemporary challenges facing democracies, exploring political mobilisation, resistance, and democratic resilience. Bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives, it investigates nationalism, populism, social movements, inequality, climate injustice, and political participation, examining how institutions, communities, and citizens respond to democratic threats, contest power, and shape more inclusive, sustainable democratic futures. 

In the strand Communicating Hate: Media, Emerging Technologies, and Digital Safety we seek to document the ways in which hate is communicated through what both traditional and ‘new’ technologies; explore and test the ways in which emerging technologies can be used perpetuate inequalities; and understand if and how such processes can be regulated to promote safety online. Our work covers the full scope of traditional, new, and emerging communication processes including content generation, media production, information dissemination, and the prevention and regulation of hateful content. 

Our research sees independent print and broadcast media as vital instruments in modern democracies, and looks to ways in which public service journalism can be protected and respected, enabled as well as regulated and tested. The use of new and emerging technologies as a means to challenge but also foment hate and inequalities is an essential part of our work in mapping hate and its impacts.  

With respect to media regulation, our work explores the scope and operation of European law, and in particular the interrelationship between the AI Act, the Digital Services Act, Transparency and targeting of political advertising regulating (TTPA) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. 

Some of the people woirking in this area are: Audrey Galvin, Niamh Kirk, and Gizem Yardimci. You can find out more about our research in this strand on our page, Communicating Hate: Media, Emerging Technologies, and Digital Safety.