THE LIMITS OF CARE: When Protection Becomes Restriction: Empathy, Political Values and the Legitimacy of State Intervention

THE LIMITS OF CARE

When Protection Becomes Restriction: Empathy, Political Values and the Legitimacy of State Intervention

Target call: HORIZON-WIDERA-2027-05-ERA-04 – Area 1: Youth, Science and Democracy

Research Challenge

When does protecting individuals and society justify restricting personal freedom? Why do some citizens support state prohibitions intended to protect public welfare, while others regard the same measures as excessive interference?

THE LIMITS OF CARE explores a central paradox of contemporary governance: policies justified by care, protection and scientific evidence may generate public support for restrictions on individual autonomy.

The project distinguishes between support for paternalistic public policies and acceptance of executive authority exercised without adequate democratic oversight. It investigates how empathy, political conservatism, authoritarian attitudes, democratic tolerance and scientific literacy shape these different responses.

Proposed Approach

The project combines two complementary components:

1. Cross-National Survey Experiments

Young adults aged 18–25 in several European countries will evaluate hypothetical policy scenarios involving public health, digital regulation and public security.

Experimental conditions will vary the strength of scientific evidence, the restrictiveness of proposed measures and the availability of democratic accountability mechanisms.

The research will investigate when protective arguments generate support for restrictions and whether citizens distinguish legitimate public intervention from the weakening of democratic safeguards.

2. Youth Evidence & Ethics Labs

Young participants will work with researchers to critically examine scientific findings, assess policy alternatives, explore ethical trade-offs and develop evidence-informed evaluations of public interventions.

The labs will promote scientific literacy, critical reasoning, participatory research and engagement with public policy.

Expected Outcomes

• Comparative research on the relationships between empathy, political values, scientific evidence and support for state intervention.

• A transferable Youth Evidence & Ethics Lab methodology.

• Educational resources for evaluating scientific evidence and democratic accountability in public policymaking.

• Evidence-based recommendations for strengthening young people's participation in research and innovation.

• An international interdisciplinary research network connecting political sociology, psychology, science communication and public policy.

Partners Sought

We welcome collaboration with European universities, research institutes, youth organisations and science communication networks specialising in political psychology, democratic governance, scientific literacy, experimental methods, research ethics and participatory engagement.

Gebze Technical University (Türkiye) can contribute expertise in political sociology, governance, security institutions, comparative research and public policy analysis.

The concept is at an early development stage and open to joint refinement with prospective consortium coordinators and partners.