Martin van Hees’ research focuses on the analysis of moral and political values. In addition to exploring the relationship between social justice and individual freedom, his recent research has centred on determining who can be held responsible for the outcomes of collective decision-making processes (the ‘many hands’ problem). His research work is highly interdisciplinary, and based on formal, empirical and normative methods.  

Van Hees has worked at the University of Groningen since 1998, where he has served as professor of Ethics and Political Theory since 2007. In addition to his tenure as professor, Van Hees also serves as Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Groningen. Van Hees was awarded various research grants over the course of his career, including a Vici grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) between 2004-2009 for the Modelling Freedom programme. He has published in periodicals such as the American Political Science Review and Mind, and authored books such as Legal Reductionism and Freedom (Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000) and Rights and Decisions (Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1995). These two books were recently jointly published in Chinese.
Van Hees serves as chairman of the board at the International School of Philosophy (ISVW) and a member of the editorial staff at Economics and Philosophy (Cambridge University Press). Last year, Elsevier named Martin van Hees one of the Netherlands’ most prominent political thinkers.