Abstract
The discussion pursues three themes. In section 2, we present how ‘vulnerability’ may be conceptualised in different ways—as a general human condition, or a characteristic of some groups of people. We then turn to how the different conceptions of vulnerability also play into how likeness and difference between individuals and groups are framed and approached, see section 3. Next, in section 4, we discuss how societal structures and institutions are increasingly included into legal reasoning, which can be seen as signs of equality and non-discrimination law moving in a similar direction to that of Fineman’s vulnerability theory. Finally, in section 5 we take the Nordic welfare state context as our point of departure for reflecting on possible ways forward for developing a systematic approach to the role of law in addressing and combating disadvantage.