UCL Uncovering Politics
UCL Political Science
Subscribe
The podcast of the School of Public Policy and the Department of Political Science at University College London. Through this podcast we plan to explore key themes of contemporary politics and let you into some of our research findings that we think the wider world needs to know about.
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
1 day ago
Brexit and Northern Ireland
In 1998, after three decades of conflict, lasting peace was achieved in Northern Ireland through an accord variously known as the Good Friday Agreement or the Belfast Agreement. The 25th anniversary of that Agreement comes next month.
Though there are problems – the institutions of power-sharing government established through the Agreement are currently suspended, and pockets of paramilitary violence remain – the settlement reached a quarter of a century ago has been strikingly successful in its central aim: conflict has not returned; and contestation over Northern Ireland’s constitutional future is now conducted solely by political means. People in Northern Ireland have lived in much greater freedom and security as a result. For most people, life has got much better.
Nevertheless, 30 years of conflict were always going to leave lasting legacies that would take time to heal. And research conducted in part here in UCL is exploring those legacies and comparing them with patterns found in other post-conflict societies around the world.
This week we are joined by Professor Kristin Bakke and Dr Kit Rickard.
Mentioned in this episode:
* The past, Brexit, and the future in Northern Ireland: a quasi-experiment
* ‘Ten pound touts’: post-conflict trust and the legacy of counterinsurgency in Northern Ireland
playlist_add
Mar 16, 2023
Do higher benefits encourage immigration?
Immigration is back near the top of the political agenda, here in the UK and elsewhere. The UK government’s so-called ‘Stop the Boats Bill’, which targets those who cross the Channel in search of asylum, is one rather extreme manifestation of the idea that you can stop unwanted migration by making it unattractive. A wider expression of the same view is the concept of ‘benefit tourism’: the idea that migrants are more likely to come if welfare benefits are higher, and that and that you can therefore reduce immigration be keeping benefits low.
Now, there are clearly questions to ask about whether such ideas are morally defensible, but it’s also important to ask whether they work on their own terms. And new research carried out here at UCL casts important doubt on that. We are joined by one of the co-authors of that research, Dr Moritz Marbach, Associate Professor in Data Science & Public Policy in the UCL Department of Political Science.
Mentioned in this episode:
* Jeremy Ferwerda, Moritz Marbach and Dominik Hangartner, ‘Do Immigrants Move to Welfare? Subnational Evidence from Switzerland’
playlist_add
Mar 9, 2023
The Politics of Ordinary Hope
This week, we have a slightly different kind of episode to normal. Rather than discussing an academic publication, we’ll be looking at the ideas and career of Professor Marc Stears.
Marc is currently the inaugural director of the UCL policy lab, set up to break down the barriers between academic researchers and broader society. His career to date has included stints in academia at Cambridge, Oxford and Macquaire, being the Chief Speechwriter of the Labour Party, writing major speeches for Ed Milliband, the CEO of the New Economics Foundation, and the Director of the Sydney Policy Lab.
Marc has some big ideas about politics and political reform. Two particularly attractive and compelling facets of Marc's work, found especially in two of his books, _Out of the Ordinary_ and_ Demanding Democracy_, are his optimism about the prospects for a better politics, and his vision of putting citizens at the heart of change and progress. His work offers us a faith in ordinary people, and in the possibility of a non-utopian kind of ordinary hope – and these are ideas that we discuss in this episode.
Mentioned in this episode:
* Prof Stears' Inaugural lecture.
* Out of the Ordinary How Everyday Life Inspired a Nation and How It Can Again. Marc Stears.
* Progressives, Pluralists and the Problem of the State. Ideologies of Reform in the United States and Britain, 1909-1926. Marc Stears.
* Demanding Democracy. Marc Stears.
playlist_add
Mar 2, 2023
The Politics of the European Court of Human Rights
If you managed to catch our episode last week, you’ll know that we were talking about the European Court of Justice. This week we are looking at another international court – the European Court of Human Rights.
This court has long been contentious in some circles in the UK. The Conservative Party’s election manifesto in 2015 pledged to ‘break the formal link between British courts and the European Court of Human Rights, and make our own Supreme Court the ultimate arbiter of human rights matters in the UK’. In the last year, the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has repeatedly expressed her view that the UK should leave the Court’s jurisdiction.
So what should we make of these arguments? What is the European Court of Human Rights, how does it function, and what does it do?
Joining us to discuss these questions is Dr Veronika Fikfak, Associate Professor in International Law here in the UCL Department of Political Science. Veronika leads an ongoing research project called Human Rights Nudge. She also serves as a judge ad hoc at the European Court of Human Rights and has recently published an article examining the Court’s practices in relation to settling cases before they reach a formal court hearing.
Mentioned in this episode:
* Veronika Fikfak. _Against settlement before the European Court of Human Rights._ International Journal of Constitutional Law
playlist_add
Feb 23, 2023
The Politics of the European Court of Justice
One of the chief stumbling blocks in negotiations over the Northern Ireland Protocol has concerned the role of the EU’s top court, the European Court of Justice, and parts of the Conservative Party are ever agitated by the quite separate European Court of Human Rights and its role in adjudicating on human rights disputes. So we have made two episodes looking at these institutions, starting with this one.
We’re focusing this week on the European Court of Justice. Joining us is Dr Michal Ovádek, Lecturer in European Institutions, Politics and Policy here in the UCL Department of Political Science.
Michal has recently published an article on a 2018 European Court of Justice ruling concerning the pay of Portuguese judges. That might seem a little obscure. But it turns out that the case had important real-world impacts, and also tells us a lot about how the court operates.
Mentioned in this episode:
* "The making of landmark rulings in the European Union: the case of national judicial independence." Michal Ovádek. Journal of European Public Policy
playlist_add
Feb 8, 2023
The Role of Praise
At first blush, it might seem obvious that praise is a good thing. It involves complimenting others on what they have done; it tends to make them feel good; and it’s a way for us to communicate insights about virtuous behaviour.
But dig a little deeper and things are not always as they seem. Take an example from almost three years ago. A bright moment for many people in the first Covid lockdown was the weekly ‘clap for carers’, instigated to praise and give thanks to NHS workers and others who were on the frontline of the battle against the disease. But the weekly claps went sour. Many of the intended recipients of the praise came to resent them.
So what was going on here? What makes praise sometimes inappropriate or wrong?
These are some of the questions at the heart of the research of Hannah McHugh, a political philosopher currently completing her PhD in the UCL Department of Political Science. Long-time podcast listeners may remember that Hannah joined us last year to explore another aspect of her work: the role of blame in politics. We are delighted that Hannah joins us again, this time to discuss the role of praise.
Mentioned in this episode:
* I'm not your inspiration, thank you very much. Stella Young. TEDxSydney
playlist_add
Feb 2, 2023
Twitter, the Online Safety Bill, and Free Speech
Two current news stories raise important questions about online speech, and how it should be regulated.
First, twitter has been taken over by Elon Musk, who has slashed staff numbers, allowed previously barred users – not least, Donald Trump – to return, and pledged a new era of free speech and less regulation. Some claim that as a result, Twitter has seen a deluge of disinformation and hate speech.
In the UK, meanwhile, the Online Safety Bill is making its way through parliament. This was originally intended in part to protect democracy against disinformation. But these provisions have now largely been stripped out, weakening the protections it will provide.
This week we are joined by Dr Jeff Howard, Associate Professor in Political Theory here in the UCL Department of Political Science, an expert in free speech and on the ethics of online speech.
playlist_add
Jan 26, 2023
Democracy in the UK – with Gina Miller
Regular listeners know that normally on this podcast we have conversations with our academic colleagues here at UCL. But this week we’re doing something a little bit different. In the first of what we hope will be an occasional series of episodes with real-world political actors, we’re discussing the state of democracy in the UK today – and what can be done about it – with the leader of a UK political party.
That party is the True and Fair Party. And its leader is Gina Miller.
playlist_add
Jan 20, 2023
The Precautionary State
At a time of breakdown in our public health service, unaffordable childcare bills, and a cost of living crisis, questions over how our society should be governed, and what the state should provide, are pressing.
Meanwhile, the response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the vulnerabilities in the energy and food supply chains exposed by the war in Ukraine reveal, some think, state failure to plan ahead and make provision, just in case.
One person who has thought long and hard about what functions the state should exercise, and how it ought to perform them, is Albert Weale, Emeritus Professor of Political Theory and Public Policy here in the UCL Department of Political Science. Longstanding listeners to UCL Uncovering Politics may remember an episode we did with him a couple of years ago on his major book _Modern Social Contract Theory_, which explored the principles that should guide decisions on the role of the state.
Albert is now building on that foundation to develop a new approach to thinking about the role of the state, which he calls the ‘precautionary state’ – one that moves from ‘just in time’ systems, to a ‘just in case’ approach, with ample provision of public goods.
Mentioned in this episode:
* Modern Social Contract Theory. Albert Weale. Oxford University Press.
playlist_add
Jan 12, 2023
War and Infant Mortality
It seems obvious that war harms civilian populations, not least children. But research can reveal much more about the nature and scale of those harms and perhaps also about what can be done about them.
This week we’re focusing on a new study of the impact of war upon rates of infant mortality. The study is by Rod Abouharb, Associate Professor of International Relations here in the UCL Department of Political Science.
Mentioned in this episode:
* Abouharb, M.R. 'War and infant mortality rates.' Journal of Human Rights.
playlist_add
Dec 22, 2022
A Primer on House of Lords Reform
Proposals for reform of the UK’s House of Lords are in the news. In the wake of a report by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Labour leader and – if the polls are to be believed – likely future Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that he would abolish the House of Lords and replace it with a so-called Assembly of the Nations and Regions.
This week Alan Renwick is joined by Meg Russell, Director of the UCL Constitution Unit and Professor of British and Comparative Politics in the UCL Department of Political Science. Meg is _the_ leading expert on the House of Lords and on second chambers more broadly, having conducted research on the subject for more than two decades.
Meg gives us a primer on the House of Lords and helps answer the questions: does it need reform? What is the best way of doing it?
Associated reading:
* The Contemporary House of Lords: Westminster Bicameralism Revived. Meg Russell
* The problem(s) of House of Lords appointments. Meg Russell
playlist_add
Dec 15, 2022
LGBT+ Politics
The transformation of LGBT+ lives in many societies has been one of the greatest advances of the last half century. Where previously there was criminalization and ostracism, today – often – there is inclusion and celebration. But this has not happened equally everywhere, or for all LGBT+ people. And in some places, and on some issues, there are strong counter-movements.
This week we are joined by one of our newest colleagues at the UCL Department of Political Science: Phillip Ayoub, Professor of International Relations.
Mentioned in this episode:
* When States Come Out. Europe's Sexual Minorities and the Politics of Visibility. Cambridge University Press.
playlist_add
Dec 8, 2022
Hypocrisy and Human Rights Around the World
Human rights atrocities make headlines around the world and are usually followed by a national and international debate over how the perpetrators should be punished, and how these events might be prevented in the future.
The government of the country where such human rights violations take place often comes under intense criticism and is pressured into creating processes of enquiry or passing legislation. And yet, often, little seems to change on the ground, and victims of human rights violations are rarely, if ever, are satisfied with the outcome. This begs the question: what is the point of these international calls for justice, if justice is rarely forthcoming?
A new book dealing with these questions and the contradictions in the international human rights order was released this year. Its author is Dr Kate Cronin-Furman, Associate Professor in the UCL Department of Political Science.
Mentioned in this episode:
* Hypocrisy and Human Rights: Resisting Accountability for Mass At…
playlist_add
Nov 24, 2022
How Should Politicians’ Behaviour be Regulated?
Questions about politicians’ behaviour have been high on the political agenda here in the UK in recent months and years.
Boris Johnson’s premiership was dogged – and ultimately ended – by allegations that he was serially dishonest and tolerated bullying and other misconduct from his inner circle. Liz Truss sidelined independent sources of expertise and presided over catastrophic policy failure. And Rishi Sunak – though he entered Downing Street promising _integrity_, _professionalism_, and _accountability_ – appointed a Home Secretary who only six days previously had left government for breaching the Ministerial Code, installed two other ministers against whom there are allegations of bullying, and (at the time of recording) yet to appoint an Ethics Adviser.
So how can we ensure high standards of behaviour from our politicians? Can we rely simply on political accountability, and the disciplining role of the ballot box? Or do advisers, regulators, and perhaps even judges n…
playlist_add
Nov 10, 2022
Global Tech Companies and the War in Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year has created Europe’s largest refugee crisis in a generation and caused major disruption to the world’s economy and energy systems. In Ukraine itself, civilian life has been transformed and, in many cases, destroyed by the conflict.
One notable dimension of the war has been the intervention of major tech companies, including Facebook, Google, and SpaceX. Through multiple rapid responses they have successfully inhibited Russia’s information warfare strategy. These steps include a targeted digital blockade of Russia and ensuring Ukraine’s internet infrastructure is protected from online and offline attacks.
A new report published by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change analyses what the tech companies have done, explores implications for power and democracy, and makes recommendations for how states and tech companies should change their approach.
This week we are joined by one of the authors, Dr Melanie Garson. Melanie is b…
playlist_add
Nov 3, 2022
Climate Change: The Road to COP27
COP is back. This month, leaders from the worlds of politics, industry, activism, and academia will gather again – for COP27 – in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt.
A COP taking place in Africa underlines many of the pressing issues that delegates will face. How can justice be achieved for those countries that are least responsible for CO2 levels, but often the most damaged by climate change? And how can such a large-scale event, bringing people together from around the world, be run without in itself creating more environmental damage?
This week we are joined by Dr Simon Chin-Yee, Lecturer in International Development in the UCL Department of Political Science and Professor Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science in the UCL Department of Geography.
Mentioned in this episode:
* Jonathan Barnsley, Jhénelle A Williams and Simon Chin-Yee et al. Location location location: A carbon footprint calculator for transparent travel to COP27.
* Jhénelle Williams, Simon Chin-Yee and Mar…
playlist_add
Oct 27, 2022
Parliament’s Role in Brexit
Politics in the UK is in a state of turmoil. Every time we think it can’t get any crazier, it finds a way of doing just that. Many of the roots of the trouble can be found in Brexit. Whatever you think of Brexit, it’s clear that the referendum of June 2016 forced parliament to implement a massive switch in the direction of the country that most MPs thought was wrong, and split the main parties – particularly the Conservative Party – down the middle. The politics of ideology trumped the politics of competence.
This week we look at a new piece of research by two researchers here at UCL, which sheds light on an important aspect of the story. It assesses just how much influence parliament had in shaping the various laws that had to be passed to make Brexit a reality and put alternative arrangements in place.
The authors of the study are:
Dr Tom Fleming, Lecturer in British and Comparative Politics here in the UCL Department of Political Science and a member of the UCL Constituti…
playlist_add
Oct 20, 2022
Robots and Immigrants
Rhetoric around immigrants ‘stealing people’s jobs’ has become common in contemporary British politics, especially during the debates around the 2016 Brexit referendum. Meanwhile, rising automation has spurred discussion of how many jobs will be taken over by the ‘robots’. The ways we talk about these two threats of job losses can be strikingly similar and both pose questions about how the labour market will be structured in the future.
A new book examining these discourses and their role in British economic and political debate, called _Robots and Immigrants: Who Is Stealing Jobs?_, was published last month by Bristol University Press. It’s by Dr Kostas Maronitis, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Leeds Trinity University, and Dr Denny Pencheva, Lecturer in European Politics and Public Policy at UCL.
Mentioned in this episode:
* Maronitis, K., & Pencheva, D. (2022). Robots and Immigrants: Who is stealing jobs? Bristol University Press.
playlist_add
Oct 13, 2022
How to Run Public Administration
We’re focusing this week on public administration. While mention of the word bureaucracy rarely lifts hearts, it’s incredibly important for the development of public policy, for the delivery of public services, and for all the other things that the state does.
To consider how public administration can be run well, UCL Uncovering Politics is joined by Marc Esteve, Professor of International Public Management in the UCL Department of Political Science.
Mentioned in this episode:
* Bel, G., M. Esteve., J.G. Garrido., & J.L. Zafra-Gómez., 'The costs of corporatization: Analysing the effects of forms of governance', _Public Administration_
* Lee, S., & M. Esteve., 'What drives the perceived legitimacy of collaborative governance? An experimental study', _Public Management Review_
playlist_add
Oct 7, 2022
The State of the World
The podcast has been on its summer break over the last few months, but politics certainly hasn’t stopped. The war in Ukraine has rumbled on. The global energy crisis, partly a result of the war, has forced policymakers to rethink how energy markets work. The energy crisis intersects with efforts to tackle the climate crisis, which have in some ways intensified in the wake of last year’s COP26 meeting in Glasgow. In the UK, Boris Johnson was forced out as Prime Minster and replaced by Liz Truss. And just days after Truss entered office, the death of Queen Elizabeth made headlines around the world.
To discuss these issues and more, we’re joined by a trio of top professors from the UCL Department of Political Science.
* Kristin Bakke is Professor of Political Science and International Relations. She heads our Conflict and Change research cluster, and, among other things, she is currently an investigator on a collaborative research project exploring geopolitical orientations in R…
playlist_add
Jun 30, 2022
The Role of Blame
Tackling injustice is one of the main motivations that many people have for getting involved in politics. Whether those injustices relate to income inequalities, the harms caused by climate change, discrimination based on gender or ethnicity, or failures to acknowledge each person’s particular identity, most of us want to see change. But how best to achieve that?
Well some intriguing new research focuses on the role of blame. Political theorists have often been dubious of the merits of blame, seeing it as backward-looking and unduly negative. But Hannah McHugh, a PhD student in the UCL Department of Political Science, argues that blame is due for something of a rehabilitation.
To discuss this proposition, UCL Uncovering Politics is joined by Hannah and Dr Avia Pasternak, Associate Professor in Political Theory in the Department.
Mentioned in this episode:
* H. McHugh., 'For a Backward-Looking Account of Political Responsibility: Rescuing the Role of Blame and Praise', _Unpublis…
playlist_add
Jun 23, 2022
Disabilities in the Workplace
It is estimated that around a fifth of people working in the UK today are disabled in some way. Many of these people report feeling that their employers do a poor job at accommodating their requirements to make their workplaces more inclusive.
Yet the 2010 Equality Act was designed to protect disabled people from ‘discrimination or disadvantage’ in work by placing a legal responsibility on employers to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to accommodate their disabled workers' needs.
So why is this discrimination still occurring? Is the Equality Act still fit for purpose? And what can be done to improve the situation?
To discuss these questions and the launch of their new report, Uncovering Politics is joined by two members of the UCL Department of Political Science: Dr Sarabajaya Kumar, Lecturer in Voluntary Sector Policy and Leadership; and Dr Colin Provost, Associate Professor of Public Policy.
Mentioned in this episode:
* S. Kumar., & C. Provost., _Ableism and the Labour Ma…
playlist_add
Jun 16, 2022
The Limits of Technocracy
‘It’s the economy, stupid’. That, famously, was one of the organising principles of Bill Clinton’s campaign for the US presidency in 1992. Thirty years on, amidst a cost of living crisis, economic policy decisions still often dominate politics.
Some of the debates about economic policy relate to questions of fundamental values: how much weight should we place, for example, on the _size_ of the cake or on its distribution?
But other debates focus on questions of fact. Would lowering taxes today fuel inflation? Did austerity a decade ago protect the public finances by bringing spending closer to tax receipts, or harm them by shrinking the economy and thereby diminishing the tax take?
So, if fundamental questions at the heart of politics are, at least in principle, answerable by experts, that raises the question of what the relationship between elected politicians and expert economists should be. The Bank of England was given independent control over monetary policy 25 years ag…
playlist_add
Jun 9, 2022
Public Opinion in Russia
It almost goes without saying that public opinion matters in a democracy, where leaders can be scrutinised in the free press and held accountable at free and fair elections. But public attitudes matter in authoritarian contexts too – as illustrated by how careful Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is being at the moment to control the media narrative around his war in Ukraine.
So, what role does public opinion play in autocracies? Can we accurately measure public opinion in such settings? And what does the evidence suggest about the state of public opinion in Russia today?
To answer these questions, UCL Uncovering Politics is joined by Dr Katerina Tertytchnaya, Lecturer in Comparative Politics in the UCL Department of Political Science.
Mentioned this episode:
* N. Buckley, K.L. Marquardt, O.J. Reuter, & K. Tertytchnaya., 'Endogenous Popularity: How Perceptions of Support Affect the Popularity of Authoritarian Regimes', _Varieties of Democracy Institute _
* N. Buckley, K.L.…
playlist_add
Jun 1, 2022
How to Transform Our Politics
Uniquely, this week we are discussing both a new publication and a new institution.
The publication is a book called _Out of the Ordinary: How Everyday Life Inspired a Nation and How It Can Again_. This book examines the political thought of a group of writers and artists in mid-20th-century Britain, centred around Dylan Thomas, George Orwell, and J.B. Priestley. Their ideas, it argues, offer a vision for how to overcome the polarisation and alienation of our politics today.
The institution is the UCL Policy Lab, which was launched earlier this week, and which seeks to bring together UCL’s top political scientists and economists with policymakers and others in order, we hope, to foster positive change.
Professor Marc Stears, the author of _Out of the Ordinary _and the inaugural Director of the UCL Policy Lab, joins Uncovering Politics this week.
Mentioned this week:
* M. Stears., _Out of the Ordinary: How Everyday Life Inspired a Nation and How It Can Again__ _(London: Belknap…
playlist_add
May 26, 2022
Population Displacement
Displacement of civilian populations is a feature of politics in many parts of the world. War is perhaps the most familiar driver of displacement – we have seen that, of course, on a tragic scale in Ukraine in recent months. But other factors lead people to leave their homes too, including government development policies and the effects of climate change.
And displacement also has profound effects: on the people involved most directly; but also on the dynamics of conflict and of politics more broadly.
To discuss population displacement, UCL Uncovering Politics is joined by two students from the Department of Political Science: Sigrid Weber and Pasan Jayasinghe. Sigrid and Pasan are currently researching population displacement for their PhDs, in Iraq and Sri Lanka respectively.
Mentioned in this episode:
* S. Weber., 'Controlling a Moving World: Territorial Control, Displacement and the Spread of Civilian Targeting in Iraq', _Unpublished PhD chapter_
* P. Jayasinghe., 'A Hist…
playlist_add
May 19, 2022
Political Philosophy and Climate Change
Climate change is perhaps the greatest challenge facing humans today. Yet politics appears to be failing to deliver the required response.
Students of politics are therefore conducting a wealth of research to understand what’s happening and what could be done better. But is that research actually doing any good? Is it contributing to better outcomes?
To explore this topic, UCL Uncovering Politics is joined by Dr Fergus Green, Lecturer in Political Theory and Public Policy in the UCL Department of Political Science.
Mentioned in this episode:
* F. Green., & I. Robeyns., 'On the Merits and Limits of Nationalising the Fossil Fuel Industry', _Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements_
* F. Green., & E. Brandstedt., 'Engaged Climate Ethics', _The Journal of Political Philosophy_
* Fergus and Ingrid will be speaking about their paper tonight (Thursday 19 May), at Foyles on Charing Cross Road, London. You can get a free ticket to this event here.
playlist_add
May 12, 2022
Politics in Northern Ireland
Most of the UK went to the polls last week, and the vote in Northern Ireland was perhaps particularly significant. Next year will mark 25 years since the 1998 Belfast or Good Friday Agreement, which brought peace to Northern Ireland after nearly 30 years of conflict. The power-sharing arrangements established by the Agreement have brought many successes, but they are teetering on the edge of collapse. Whether a new Executive can be formed following last week’s elections is far from clear, but the consequences of failure could be severe.
So can power-sharing be restored? If so, how? And how might Northern Ireland move beyond repeated collapses of devolved government and find a more stable political footing?
To explore these questions, UCL Uncovering Politics is joined by Alan Whysall, Honorary Senior Research Associate at the UCL Constitution Unit, and by Dr Etain Tannam, Associate Professor of International Peace Studies at Trinity College Dublin.
Mentioned in this episode:
* A…
playlist_add
May 5, 2022
Voting Systems and the Representation of Women
No democracy in the world has yet achieved equal representation for women in its national parliament. So it’s important to understand what could be done to improve the situation.
One long-standing idea is that some electoral systems may be better than others in enabling fairer representation. A new article co-authored by Dr Eleanor Woodhouse, Lecturer in Public Policy in the UCL Department of Political Science, explores this idea.
Mentioned in this episode:
* P. Profeta., & E. Woodhouse., 'Electoral Rules, Women's Representation and the Qualification of Politicians', _Comparative Political Studies_
playlist_add
Apr 28, 2022
The Politics of Climate Change
Climate change is – as the article we’re discussing this week puts it – ‘the quintessential long-term problem’. Action is needed to avert massive long-term harm. But the steps that are required will generate short-term costs.
Democracies are famously short-termist. Politicians who want to be re-elected don’t like imposing short-term costs on voters.
So: can we design democracies better to foster longer time horizons?
To answer this question, UCL Uncovering Politics is joined by Dr Jared Finnegan, Lecturer in Public Policy in the UCL Department of Political Science.
Mentioned in this episode:
* Jared J. Finnegan., 'Institutions, Climate Change, and the Foundations of Long-Term Policymaking', _Comparative Political Studies_
playlist_add
Mar 24, 2022
The Origins of the Secular State
Some states are secular, while others are based, to a greater or lesser degree, on religion. The difference matters. Secular states are more likely to respect the diverse perspectives of their citizens and protect a range of social and political rights.
So what explains variation in institutional secularism? Why did some state secularize centuries ago, while others underwent a secular shift more recently, and yet others remain religious to this day?
This is one of the key questions about political development, but it has gone relatively under-studied.
A new book, however, changes that. Called _The_ _Origins of Secular Institutions_, it takes a sweeping view of political development across half a millennium and several continents. It combines statistical analysis with exploration of deep historical narratives. And it tells a new story about how the development of printing, the extent of censorship, and the timing of the emergence of secular movements have shaped the nature of politic…
playlist_add
Mar 17, 2022
Courage in Politics
We’re looking this week at the political role of courage. The current, dreadful conflict in Ukraine provides numerous extraordinary examples of courage: of civilians who stand up to Russian tanks; of Ukraine’s president, who remains in Kyiv despite manifest personal danger; of anti-war protesters in Russia, who take to the streets though they know they are likely to be arrested and perhaps beaten.
Courage can take many forms. So we ask what exactly it is, and what roles it can play – in times of conflict and in the context of peaceful democracy.
But first, we’ll focus in on one kind of clearly courageous action in politics – the action of local peace communities in conflict-ridden societies. We’ll consider what these local peace communities are, where they can be found, and when they succeed.
To explore courage and peace communities, we are joined by two PhD students here in the UCL Department of Political Science.
* Dušan Rebolj studies political theory and is a mem…
playlist_add
Mar 9, 2022
The Transformation of British Welfare Policy
A new book out this month by our colleague Tom O’Grady begins with a remarkable quotation from a UN Special Rapporteur writing in 2018 about welfare reforms in the UK:
_‘British compassion’ – the rapporteur said – ‘has been replaced by a punitive, mean-spirited and often callous approach apparently designed to impose a rigid order on the lives of those least capable of coping, and elevate the goal of enforcing blind compliance over a genuine concern to improve the well-being of those at the lowest economic levels of British society.’_
In his book, Tom argues that, over the past 30 years, the UK’s welfare policies – meaning policies that provide relief from unemployment, poverty, and disability – have shifted from relative generosity to sometimes extreme meanness. He analyses why the change has occurred, arguing that much of the responsibility lies in the discourse of politicians and the media – most particularly, the choices about such discourse made by the Labo…
playlist_add
Mar 3, 2022
The Origins of Social Trust
We talk a lot about trust – or, more often, the lack of trust – in politics. Often we’re referring to people’s trust in politicians. But social trust – our trust in the people around us – matters too.
The evidence from must countries is that social trust has been falling in recent decades. But the countries of Scandinavia have bucked that trend. Indeed, in Denmark, the survey evidence suggests that social trust has _risen_ since 1979 by 30 percentage points.
So what’s going on? What factors shape social trust? What can policymakers do to promote social trust? And has Covid shifted any of the long-term trends?
Host Professor Alan Renwick is joined by Professor Peter Thisted Dinesen, Professor of Political Science in the Departments of Political Science of both UCL and the University of Copenhagen.
Mentioned in this episode:
* Danish Exceptionalism: Explaining the Unique Increase in Social Trust Over the Past 30 Years
* Ethnic Diversity and Social Trust: Evidence f…
playlist_add
Feb 24, 2022
Why did Argentina invade the Malvinas/Falklands in 1982?
The fortieth anniversary of the Malvinas/Falklands War of 1982 is coming up in just a few weeks’ time. There will no doubt be many retrospectives, which, here in the UK, will focus on the actions of the British government, and whether the UK’s response would be different if anything similar took place today.
But what about Argentine perspectives on the war? Why did the then Argentine government invade the islands? How was the conflict perceived in Argentina at the time, and how is it seen today? In understanding the thinking of Argentina’s rulers in 1982, can we gain insights into the calculations of authoritarian leaders who might be contemplating military action today – not least, of course, President Vladimir Putin of Russia?
Host Professor Jennifer Hudson is joined by Dr Luis Schenoni, Lecturer in International Relations. His research explores the determinants of international conflict and its effects on the dynamics of state formation, particularly in Latin America.
Men…
playlist_add
Feb 9, 2022
The Pedagogy of Politics
How should we teach about politics? How – if at all – should teaching politics be different from teaching hard sciences, such as physics, or arts and humanities subjects, such as History or English, or indeed other social sciences, such as Economics or Sociology? The territory of politics is inherently contested, so should we embrace that contestation in our teaching or should we stick to known facts?
These and many other questions are explored by a new centre within the UCL Department of Political Science called the UCL Centre for the Pedagogy of Politics. And we are delighted to be joined by two of its founders and Co-Directors in this episode.
* Dr Cathy Elliott is Associate Professor (Teaching) in Qualitative Methods and the Politics of Nature in the UCL Department of Political Science, as well as our Graduate Tutor.
* And Dr J-P Salter is Lecturer (Teaching) in Public Policy – again, in the UCL Department of Political Science – and also our Deputy Director of Educati…
playlist_add
Feb 3, 2022
Freeing Bureaucrats to Succeed
How can you best deliver effective public services? Is it better to exert top-down control over the work of bureaucrats on the ground – through targets, monitoring, and prescribed procedures – so that slacking or corruption or inconsistency can be prevented? Or can more be achieved if you free up bureaucrats to work out their own approaches, utilizing their practical knowledge and allowing their desire to do a good job to flourish?
Our colleague Dr Dan Honig, who is Associate Professor of Public Policy here in the UCL Department of Political Science, argues that we have tended to get the balance wrong, with too much top-down control and not enough freedom on the ground. In two books – one of them published in 2018 by Oxford University Press and the other on its way – Dan sets out the case for a new approach.
And his work is making waves not just in academia. At the end of 2021 he was announced by Apolitical as one of its hundred most influential academics in government in the…
playlist_add
Jan 28, 2022
Taking Offence
It’s sometimes said that we’re living through an epidemic of taking offence. We have become hyper-sensitive, the story goes, to any slight against our sense of self-worth. And a generation of so-called ‘snowflakes’ are told they just need to relax a little.
But what does it actually mean to take offence? How does feeling offended fit in alongside all the other emotions that our social interactions might invoke, such as anger, indignation, or contempt? Is taking offence really such a bad thing – or might it, at least in some circumstances, actually have positive value?
Well the person who has thought about such questions more deeply than anyone else is Dr Emily McTernan, Associate Professor in Political Theory in the UCL Department of Political Science. Emily is currently finishing a book to be published by Oxford University Press called _On Taking Offence_, and last year a version of the first chapter was published in article form in one of the top political philosophy jour…
playlist_add
Jan 19, 2022
Intermarriage and Voting in Africa
Ethnic voting means voting on the basis of ethnic identity, rather than, say, policy preferences or how well or badly you think the incumbents have governed.
Ethnic and other forms of communal voting are found in many parts of the world – think, for example, of very different voting patterns between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. But ethnic voting is often thought particularly to be a feature of politics in many African countries.
And such voting is also often seen as rather problematic for healthy democracy, because it can shield those in power from accountability if they govern poorly.
Well a new study published last year sheds fresh light on ethnic voting in Africa. It focuses particularly on the fact that increasingly many marriages in many African countries now cross ethnic lines. And it explores the impact of such marriages on voting. One of its authors is Dr Adam Harris, Associate Professor in Development Politics in the UCL Department of Political Science a…
playlist_add
Jan 13, 2022
Governments and Private Sector Suppliers
Now, no one would claim that the subject of contracts between governments and private sector suppliers is all that sexy. But the last two years of the Covid crisis have certainly revealed its importance. In the earliest weeks of the pandemic back in 2020, governments around the world scrambled to secure enough PPE, hospital ventilators, and Covid tests. Then there was the race to buy up vaccines. In recent weeks, shortages of testing kits have been back in the headlines. Here in the UK, vaccine purchasing is held up as exemplary, while contracting for PPE remains mired in allegations of cronyism.
But controversies over government contracting are far from new. Debates about the merits – or otherwise – of the contracting out of public services and of public–private partnerships have been running for decades. And scandals over nepotism and revolving doors between the public and private sectors have been familiar for a lot longer than that. On the other hand, of course, many would s…
playlist_add
Dec 16, 2021
Public Preferences on Taxes and Spending
Few issues in public policy are as important as the size of the state. How much should the state spend? How much, therefore, should it raise in taxes? And what exactly should it spend this money on?
In a democracy, we expect policymakers to be responsive to public opinion in answering such questions. But what do the public actually want? Indeed, to what extent do most of us even have meaningful preferences that take account of unavoidable trade-offs between different priorities?
Such questions have long challenged political scientists. But a new paper just published by three colleagues here in the UCL Department of Political Science offers a new approach to measuring such preferences, and some intriguing answers on what people want.
Those colleagues are Lucy Barnes, Jack Blumenau, and Ben Lauderdale. And we are delighted to be joined by Dr Lucy Barnes, Associate Professor in Comparative Politics and our Deputy Head of Department, and Ben Lauderdale, Professor of Political Science an…
playlist_add
Dec 9, 2021
Online Public Shaming: Social Media, Ethics and Punishment
Today we’re looking at a brand new article, Against Online Public Shaming: Ethical Problems with Mass Social Media, by Guy Aitchison (Loughborough University) and Dr Saladin Meckled-Garcia (UCL).
Online Public Shaming (OPS) is a form of norm enforcement that involves collectively imposing reputational costs on a person for having a certain kind of moral character. OPS actions aim to disqualify her from public discussion and certain normal human relations. In the article, the authors argue that this constitutes an informal collective punishment that it is presumptively wrong to impose (or seek to impose) on others. OPS functions as a form of ostracism that fails to show equal basic respect to its targets. Additionally, in seeking to mobilise unconstrained collective power with potentially serious punitive consequences, OPS is incompatible with due process values.
In this episode, host Professor Jennifer Hudson is joined by Saladin, Associate Professor of Human Rights and Political T…
playlist_add
Dec 2, 2021
Legacies of Armed Conflict in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland experienced three decades of violence from the late 1960s to the late 1990s. Thousands of people were killed, injured, or bereaved. The so-called Troubles were brought to an end by the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement of 1998, an accord between the British and Irish governments and most of the main political parties in Northern Ireland that established new governing arrangements for Northern Ireland within the UK and set out how Northern Ireland might in future leave the UK and become part of a united Ireland, if majorities both north and south of the border wanted it.
In many ways, the 1998 Agreement is a model peace settlement. Power-sharing government sputters, but survives. Everyday lives have been transformed. Violence between the communities has almost ended. Yet many legacies of the past live on. Today, we are focusing on one of those – namely, violence _within_ communities, and, in particular, punishment attacks meted out by paramilitary groups against peopl…
playlist_add
Nov 25, 2021
COP26 in Review: Reflections on Glasgow
Today we’re taking a retrospective look at the outcomes of the COP-26 conference that was held in Glasgow earlier this month. COP – or Conference of the Parties – is the annual UN climate change conference. A key aim of the conference was to ‘keep 1.5°C alive’ – but was enough progress made on cutting emissions to reach this goal? Have rich countries stepped up to the plate by agreeing to pay for loss and damage in poorer countries? And, are we making progress fast enough?
We have three leading experts on these matters here at UCL, and they join me now.
* Jared Finnegan is Lecturer in Public Policy. Before joining UCL he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley and Princeton University. His research investigates how governments, voters, and business understand and address long-term societal challenges, particularly climate change
* Fergus Green is Lecturer in Political Theory and Public Policy. His research normative analysis of public policy and on processes of poli…
playlist_add
Nov 18, 2021
Regulating the Internet
We’re focusing today on the regulation of the internet.
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen argues that her former employer persistently puts profit above prevention of harm. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg himself argues that greater regulation of internet companies is needed – that rules for what is and isn’t allowed should be made through democratic means. And the UK – among other countries – is in the process of preparing legislation with just that goal.
So what exactly are the problems that the current wild west of the worldwide web gives rise to? What principles should guide any new legislation? And where do those principles take us in terms of concrete policy?
In this episode we are joined by two leading experts on these matters here at UCL. Dr Jeff Howard is Associate Professor of Political Theory in the UCL Department of Political Science. Regular listeners to the podcast will already be familiar with his work on regulating dangerous political speech. He is curre…
playlist_add
Nov 4, 2021
Analysing Politicians’ Words
Today our focus is on what politicians say – and on processes for analysing what politicians say. Politicians’ speech is, of course, a fundamental part of politics. We can think of it as a product of – and therefore a window into – deeper political forces. And in itself it also helps to _constitute_ the political realm and how we think of all the parts of that realm.
Analysis of what politicians say – and, indeed, of what others say, but we’re focusing today on politicians – is a tool that many political scientists use to explore a whole range of different aspects of politics. Many approaches are used in doing so. And these include increasingly sophisticated techniques for analysing vast bodies of speech systematically.
We’re showcasing the work of some of our PhD students here on the podcast at the moment and this week our host Professor Alan Renwick welcomes Lotte Hargrave, who is looking at whether female and male MPs speak differently from each other and and Marku…
playlist_add
Oct 28, 2021
The Global Politics of Climate Change
COP stands for Conference of the Parties, and is the annual UN climate change conference. The conference will be attended by the countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – a treaty that came into force in 1994. More than 190 world leaders are expected to arrive in Scotland. Together with tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses and citizens for twelve days of talks.
Among academics, campaigners, environmentalists and policymakers, COP26 is seen as a critical event: it's the moment at which countries must set out more ambitious goals for climate action five years on from the Paris Agreement. It also comes on the back of even more severe extreme weather events, evidence of rising global CO2 emissions, and continued biodiversity loss.
Under the Paris Agreement, countries committed to bring forward national plans setting out how much they would reduce their emissions - known as Nationally Determined Contrib…
playlist_add
Oct 21, 2021
Prison Protests in Palestine
Today we’re looking at protest by prisoners. Some of the most famous cases of protest politics involve protests by prisoners.
* Think of hunger striking suffragettes in early-twentieth-century Britain.
* Think of the dirty protest among republican prisoners in Belfast in the late 1970s, and then the hunger strikes there in 1981.
* Indeed, just two weeks ago on this podcast we were discussing Alex Navalny, Russian opposition leader, who remains influential despite being behind bars.
* Prison protests may be invisible to the outside world, but they can nevertheless resonate widely.
And in this episode, we're exploring another case – the case of Palestinian prisoners – in particular, of Palestinians who are in prison in jails in Israel. We are joined by Dr Julie Norman, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations here in the UCL Department of Political Science, whose book, _The Palestinian Prisoners Movement: Disobedience and Resistance, _came out over the summer, and…
playlist_add
Oct 14, 2021
How Has Covid Affected Voter Preferences
In this episode we are looking at a new piece of research - Flight to Safety: COVID-Induced Changes in the Intensity of Status Quo Preference and Voting Behavior.
This paper focusses on some important questions around covid. How do emotions and particularly anxiety, shape or influence voters preferences? How does anxiety resulting from this unforeseen external force, covid, or manufactured for political gain, influence democratic politics and elections? Are voters inherently risk averse during periods of uncertainty? And how did covid induce a flight to safety among voters?
Joining host Professor Jennifer Hudson is Dan Honig, Associate Professor of Public Policy here at the Department of Political Science who has been exploring all of these questions and more.
playlist_add
Oct 7, 2021
Alexei Navalny and the Future of Russian Politics
In this, our first episode of the new academic year, we’re looking at politics in Russia. Alexei Navalny – who hit the headlines around the world last year by surviving an attempt to assassinate him by lacing his underpants with Novichok, and who now languishes in prison 100km east of Moscow – is Russia’s best known opposition leader. Indeed, a new book about Navalny’s life and activism describes him as ‘the main political counterforce in the country’ and ‘its second most important politician’.
So who is Alexei Navalny? What does his current predicament say about the state of Russian politics? And what chance is there that he – or anyone else – might be able to lead Russia towards a more democratic future?
Our host Professor Alan Renwick is joined by one of the new book’s authors Dr Ben Noble, Associate Professor in Russian Politics at UCL’s School of Slavonic and East European Studies, and Dr Katerina Tertychnaya, Lecturer in Comparative Politics in the UCL…
playlist_add
Jun 17, 2021
Should the Civil Service Be Neutral?
In this our final episode for the current academic year, we’re going to tackle one of the biggest questions of political science: How do you run an effective government? In particular, how do you build a bureaucracy that’s able to deliver? Is it better to have neutral civil servants, who are appointed on merit and retain their posts whichever parties are in power? Or should we prefer a politicized bureaucracy, whose members are appointed at least in part for their loyalty to the politicians in charge, and who come and go with their political masters?
That question is particularly salient here in the UK just at the moment. As we have discussed on several episodes of this podcast over the year, the current government under Boris Johnson has been widely criticized for undermining Britain’s longstanding tradition of civil service neutrality by pushing some senior officials out and bringing in others it thinks better attuned to its agenda. Government ministers counter, however, that…
playlist_add
Jun 10, 2021
The Principles of Education Policy
Many of the most important policy decisions that a state can make relate to education. What kind of education should children receive? How far should parents be able to dictate that choice? Is it acceptable to have schools that instruct pupils in a particular religious faith? Should elite private schools be allowed to exist? Given that such schools do exist, can socially progressive parents send their children there with a clean conscience?
Our guest today has been exploring these and many other related questions for decades. Adam Swift is Professor of Political Theory here in the UCL Department of Political Science. His books and papers include
* Educational Goods: Values, Evidence and Decision-Making, written with Harry Brighouse, Helen F. Ladd, and Susanna Loeb
* Family Values: The Ethics of Parent-Child Relationships, with Harry Brighouse
* How Not To Be A Hypocrite: School Choice for the Morally Perplexed Parent.
* How to Regulate Faith Schools
* How Not to Defend Priv…
playlist_add
Jun 3, 2021
Deciding Northern Ireland’s Future
The future of the Union here in the UK – that is, the union of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland – is very much in the news. In Scotland, many opinion polls over the past year (though not so much over the last few months) have suggested majority support for independence, and political parties that want another referendum on the issue secured a majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament elections last month. In Wales, support for independence seems to have grown, though still at a far lower level. And in Northern Ireland too, there has been a rise in talk of a referendum – a referendum, that is, on whether Northern Ireland should remain part of the United Kingdom or become part of a united Ireland.
In this episode we’re going to focus on Northern Ireland. If there were a referendum on the constitutional question there, how would it best be designed and conducted? Who would get to vote? What would the question on the ballot paper be? Would there need to be a refer…
playlist_add
May 27, 2021
Does the UK Still Have a Political Constitution?
Most countries have a document call the Constitution – a legal text setting out basic principles of how that country is governed. And in most of those countries there’s a constitutional court (or supreme court) that determines whether the ordinary laws passed by the legislature are compatible with the Constitution and that strikes them down if it concludes they are not.
The UK, famously, has no such capital C Constitution – no codified rulebook. And the courts here in the UK can’t (at least formally) strike down laws on the basis that they contravene higher law.
So what kind of constitution do we have? Well, it’s often said that, in contrast to the _legal_ constitutions found in many other countries, the UK has a _political _constitution – a constitution whose norms are enforced in the realm of politics rather than in the realm of law.
But many think that the UK’s political constitution is today under threat, with potentially serious consequences for the polity’s abi…
playlist_add
May 20, 2021
The Ethics of Violent Protest
The coming week sees the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. His killing by a white police officer in the American city of Minneapolis, sparked a global wave of protests. The vast majority of these were peaceful. But some were not. It’s estimated that, in the United States, acts of rioting, arson, and looting in the weeks that followed caused over a billion dollars-worth of damage – the highest recorded damage from civil disorder in US history.
So can such violent protests ever be justified? Much public and political opinion says no. Here in the UK, even last year’s toppling of the inanimate statue of a seventeenth-century slave trader was condemned across much of the political spectrum.
But one of our colleagues here at the UCL Department of Political Science argues differently. Dr Avia Pasternak, who is Associate Professor in Political Theory here, argues that, sometimes, violent protests are morally justified.
Political Rioting: A Moral Assessment
Host: Dr Ala…
playlist_add
May 13, 2021
Fostering Norms for Dispute Resolution
Alexandra Hartman is Associate Professor in Political Science and Public Policy here at UCL, and her research focuses on the political economy of institutions in fragile states. She looks not just at _formal_ political institutions such as courts or legislatures, but also at what we political scientists like to call informal institutions – the unwritten structures of norms and established practices that people follow in their interactions with each other. Such informal institutions can be crucial in shaping how society operates. And Alex examines whether policymakers can intervene to nudge them in directions that might lead to better outcomes.
In particular, her new study – recently published in the _Journal of Politics_ and co-authored with Robert Blair from Brown University and Christopher Blattman from the University of Chicago – looks at ways of resolving land disputes in Liberia. It’s fair to say that the results are mixed. And they help us think both about the kinds of p…
playlist_add
May 6, 2021
Biden’s First 100 Days
This week, we’re focusing on politics in the United States. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been in office for a little over 100 days now. So how is it going?
Has Biden been sleepy Joe? Has he pursued the path of moderation and coalition-building that has characterized so much of his long career? Or has he turned out much more of a radical than many expected? What role is being performed by Vice President Harris? How, meanwhile, have Republicans responded to their defeat? And just want is Donald Trump up to now that he is out of office and banned from Twitter?
Host: Professor Jennifer Hudson
Dr Thomas Gift
Dr Colin Provost
Dr Julie Norman
playlist_add
Mar 25, 2021
Ideas of Democracy
Democracy is what one social scientist once famously called an ‘essentially contested concept’ – one that we are never likely all to agree about. And disagreements over the form that democracy should take have lately sparked major political conflicts in many democratic countries. How far were politicians in the UK obliged to follow the so-called ‘will of the people’ as expressed in the Brexit referendum of 2016? Can the strongman democracy pursued by leaders in Hungary, India, and Brazil be called ‘democracy’ at all? And what should we make of contemporary arguments in favour of bringing more public deliberation into our democratic processes?
Questions such as these have prompted a new research project recently launched by UCL’s Constitution Unit, called Democracy in the UK after Brexit. Led by Dr Alan Renwick, working alongside Professors Meg Russell and Ben Lauderdale, the project will explore how people in the UK conceive of democracy and what kinds of democratic ar…
playlist_add
Mar 18, 2021
Global Climate Justice
We’re returning this week to the topic of climate change. You may have heard our episode a few weeks ago exploring global climate governance. Well this week, we turn our attention to global climate justice. The climate crisis has been caused mostly by the rich countries of the old industrial world. But many of the effects of that crisis are being felt first and most harshly elsewhere – in countries that bear little responsibility and often lack the resources to adapt.
So what would a just response to the climate challenge look like? How close have past rounds of negotiation come to that? And how are things looking for the COP26 climate summit taking place in Glasgow in November?
Host: Dr Alan Renwick
Dr Simon Chin-Yee
Dr Lauren Gifford
Dr Jessica Omukuti
playlist_add
Mar 11, 2021
The Prerogative Powers of Governments
We typically divide the modern state into three branches: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. On a traditional view, the legislature makes the laws, the executive implements them, and the judiciary decides on disputes.
In reality, in most states, the executive in fact plays a much bigger role than that. It not only executes the will of the legislature, but also shapes the policy agenda, develops legislative proposals, and conducts a great deal of foreign policy.
And on some matters the executive can act without the consent of the legislature – even, in some cases, against its explicit opposition. Here in the UK, such powers are called prerogative powers, and they have been pretty controversial in recent years – relating, for example, to the government’s ability to suspend sittings of parliament. And they raised eyebrows in the United States too, when, on his first day in office, President Biden reversed a whole series of Trump-era policies just by signing a set o…
playlist_add
Mar 4, 2021
Business Lobbying in the EU
How the European Union relates to the world of business has long been a matter of great contention. Scepticism towards the EU on the right of politics has for decades been fuelled by the perception that Brussels is a bureaucratic regulation generator, with little understanding of how business operates. On the Eurosceptic left, by contrast, the EU has been seen as a capitalist club, in hock to big business, incapable of seeing the interests of ordinary people.
How has the relationship between business and the EU evolved over time? How does it vary from sector to sector? And what does it all mean for policy outcomes? A new book sheds much fresh light. Called _Business Lobbying in the European Union_, the book is co-authored by UCL’s very own David Coen, along with Alexander Katsaitis from the London School of Economics and Matia Vannoni from King's College London.
Host: Dr Alan Renwick
Professor David Coen
_Business Lobbying in the European Union_
playlist_add
Feb 25, 2021
Global Climate Governance
There is common agreement that climate change poses the greatest policy challenge of our age. The costs of getting it wrong would be immense, but the barriers to getting it right are dauntingly high. Action is needed on a global scale. But global politics is deeply fractured, and individual countries may be tempted to free ride on the actions of others.
So what are the global governance structures through which the world is attempting to address this challenge? Are they delivering, or do they need reform?
Well three of the leading experts on these questions – David Coen, Julia Kreienkamp, and Tom Pegram – are based at the UCL Department of Political Science and have just written a book on the subject. It’s called _Global Climate Governance_ and it’s published now by Cambridge University Press. And two of those authors join my now to discuss the findings.
Host: Professor Jennifer Hudson
Julia Kreienkamp
Dr Tom Pegram
_Global Climate Governance_
_Policy brief _
playlist_add
Feb 11, 2021
The Politics of Asylum
The politics of asylum is more important than ever before. At the end of 2019, according to data from the UNHCR, there were 80 million displaced persons around the world. More than half of those were displaced within their own countries. But 25 million were refugees, and a further 4.2 million were seeking asylum in another country.
So how do the countries that refugees and asylum-seekers flee to respond? And what determines the degree to which these countries adopt an open or a closed approach?
Well two of our colleagues here in the UCL Department of Political Science are seeking answers to such questions in their research.
Host: Professor Jennifer Hudson
Dr Anna Oltman
Dr Judith Spirig
playlist_add
Feb 4, 2021
Care and Punishment
Care ethics is a branch of moral philosophy that focuses on how we relate to, respond to, and care for each other. Its central question is not about what abstract principles of justice we should follow, but rather about how we should respond to the needs of a given person in a particular set of circumstances.
It’s been around for several decades, but now one of our colleagues here at UCL has applied it to a setting that we might not think its natural home: the world of punishment. Dr Helen Brown Coverdale argues that looking at our practices of punishment through the lens of care gives us a new and valuable perspective on them.
So what would it mean to approach punishment through an ethic of care? And what counterarguments might there be to taking such an approach?
Host: Dr Alan Renwick
Dr Helen Brown Coverdale
_Caring and the Prison in Philosophy, Policy and Practice: Under Lock and Key_
playlist_add
Jan 28, 2021
The Limits of Free Speech on Social Media
Talking with each other about matters of politics and policy is an essential part of democracy. And today much of that conversation takes place online, through social media. The digital revolution has given voice to millions of people who previously had little chance to be heard beyond the dinner table or the pub or the local town hall. That has great benefits, opening up the democratic conversation to much wider participation. But it also has costs. Misinformation, hate speech, and words inciting violence can all rapidly spread.
That raises big questions about how speech online should be regulated. And if it should be regulated more, who should set and enforce the rules: the state, or the social media companies themselves?
Such events were cast in yet starker relief by events earlier this month in the United States. Is it right that Donald Trump was banned from Twitter? And that Parler – the alternative to Twitter that became popular on the far right – has been squeezed from the…
playlist_add
Jan 21, 2021
Trump's Legacy and the Biden Presidency
Joe Biden is President, Kamala Harris is Vice-President, and Donald Trump is out of office. The Senate and the House are both controlled by Democrats. A dramatic power shift is (more or less) complete. But the process of getting there has been fraught, and potentially damaging for American democracy for years to come.
So what are the repercussions of the last few weeks – and indeed the last four years – likely to be? And what will the presidency of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris bring?
We explored such questions in November when the votes were still being counted. But so much has happened since then that we thought, in this inauguration week, we should reconvene our US politics expert panel and scan the horizon once again.
Host: Professor Jennifer Hudson
Dr Colin Provost
Dr Julie Norman
Dr Thomas Gift
playlist_add
Jan 14, 2021
Contentious Politics under Covid-19
This week we focus on the political impact of Covid-19, and particularly the pandemic’s effects on so-called ‘contentious politics’ – politics conducted through confrontational means, whether protests, or strike actions or, indeed, insurrections.
What is the role of contentious politics in the political process as a whole? And how has the pandemic changed contentious politics around the world? Has the heightening of inequalities increased people’s willingness to protest? Or have social distancing measured stifled popular voice? Indeed, have those in power in some countries used the pandemic as a pretext for suppressing free speech and other civil liberties?
Host: Dr Alan Renwick
Professor Kristin M Bakke
Dr Katerina Tertytchnaya
Dr Nils Metternich
playlist_add
Dec 17, 2020
The State of the European Union
Brexit is back in the news, at least here in the UK. A huge amount is said in the UK media about UK perspectives on how the talks are going and what the key issues are but we hear much less about thinking within the EU.
Despite this, there’s a whole lot of other stuff that the EU is also up to. It has just agreed its budget for the next few years. It is responding to the challenge of Covid-19 and seeking to address the global climate emergency. It’s navigating its way through a rapidly changing world, with China on the rise and the United States about to reset its course under President Biden. It faces internal challenges too, not least from the erosion of democracy and the rule of law in – especially – Hungary and Poland. Therefore, in this episode we take a good hard look at the European Union.
Host: Dr Alan Renwick
Dr Valentina Amuso
Dr Chris Wratil
Dr Nick Wright
playlist_add
Dec 10, 2020
The Principles of Collective Decision-Making
Politics is the process by which we make collective choices – by which we decide how generous the welfare state will be, what kind of education system we will operate, what crimes will be punishable with what penalties, and so on. But what are the basic principles that should guide us in making such choices. How should a society go about making its collective decisions?
That is perhaps the most fundamental question of politics, and it’s a question that is addressed in a magisterial new book published earlier this year by our colleague here in the UCL Department of Political Science, Professor Albert Weale. The book is called Modern Social Contract Theory and across over 400 pages it traces the development of and variants in what has become the dominant approach in contemporary political theory to answering the question of how to make collective decisions. And that approach—the clue is in the title!—is called social contract theory.
Albert joins Alan in this episode to discuss…
playlist_add
Dec 3, 2020
Decolonising the University
When we look back at the extraordinary year of 2020, one of the major themes – alongside, of course, Covid-19 – will be Black Lives Matter. Large-scale protests began in Minneapolis in late May following the killing of George Floyd, and rapidly spread across much of the world. In consequence, as shown through analysis by the Oxford English Dictionary, references to ‘systemic racism’ grew seventeen-fold from 2019 to 2020. There were demands for reform of many institutions, practices, and habits of thought. Not least, there were calls to ‘decolonise universities’.
But what does it mean to decolonise universities? Why is doing so said to be necessary? What are the counterarguments, and what should we make of them? And what does decolonising universities mean in practice.
Host: Professor Jennifer Hudson
Dr Cathy Elliott
Subhadra Das
Caroline Bressey
playlist_add
Nov 26, 2020
Survivors of Violence
Civil war has ravaged all too many societies in recent decades. And civil wars leave deep scars long after the fighting is over. Our colleague Dr Kate Cronin-Furman, who is Lecturer in Human Rights and Director of the MA in Human Rights here at UCL, conducts research into the experiences of victims of civil war violence. One of her recently published papers, co-authored with Roxani Krystalli from the University of St Andrews, focuses on the relatives of people who have been ‘disappeared’ during conflict. Drawing on deep field research in Sri Lanka and Colombia, it examines how those relatives seek justice and recognition, and how they try to keep the memories of their missing loved ones alive.
Host: Professor Jennifer Hudson
Dr Kate Cronin-Furman
_‘__The things they carry: Victims’ documentation of forced disappearance in Colombia and Sri Lanka’_
playlist_add
Nov 19, 2020
Voter Information
Many of us are very concerned about the quality of information that’s available to voters during election and referendum campaigns. Misinformation and manipulation appear to be rampant, and voters can struggle to find the information that they want from sources they trust. Few people would doubt the importance in democracy of ensuring that voters can hear a wide range of different viewpoints and that information is accurate, accessible, and relevant to people’s lives and priorities.
But is more information for voters always unambiguously a good thing? Recent research by one of our colleagues suggests not. That research is by Dr Inken von Borzyskowski, who is Lecturer in Global Policy and International Relations here at UCL, working with Patrick Kuhn from Durham University. Inken and Patrick find that, in places where electoral violence is a real possibility, having more information may actually have some serious negative side effects. And their analysis also offers a cautionary ta…
playlist_add
Nov 5, 2020
The US Elections: What's Next?
What does the election tell us about the state of US democracy, and what does the future hold? And what are the next four years likely to bring in policy terms – on the domestic front, in foreign policy, and on action against climate change?
Host: Professor Jennifer Hudson
Dr Colin Provost
Dr Julie Norman
Dr Thomas Gift
playlist_add
Oct 29, 2020
Views of the Economy
We talk endlessly about the economy in politics. The state of the economy is said to shape election results, with incumbents doing well if it's up, and badly if its down, but what is the economy? Do we all agree on what this idea means? Do different conceptions lead to different ideas across society about the policies that should be pursued?
Questions such as these were cast into sharp light by the vote for Brexit in 2016. Did leavers and remainers have different understandings of the economy and was this what drove their decision?
A fascinating new study by Dr Anna Killick seeks to answer such queries and she joins us to look at how people view the economy.
Host: Dr Alan Renwick
Dr Anna Killick
_Anna's book ‘Rigged: understanding of "the economy" in Brexit Britain’ is available through __Manchester University Press__ for those who want to delve deeper into her research of the divisions in how people on low and high incomes viewed the economy._
playlist_add
Oct 22, 2020
Monarchy in Modern Democracy
Serious books on monarchy are rare, but a new volume on Europe’s eight contemporary democracies helps to fill the gap. Does monarchy still deserve the attention of students of politics? And is the fact that most of the world’s healthiest democracies are monarchies anything more than a coincidence? We ask one of the new book’s co-authors, Robert Hazell.
Host: Dr Alan Renwick
Professor Robert Hazell
playlist_add
Oct 15, 2020
Is Risk Good for Us?
Amidst pandemic and economic recession, living with risk – the possibility that something bad may happen to you – is part of many people’s daily reality. Some political philosophers suggest that risk is good for us – that it can enhance our self-respect. But is that supported by evidence? We discuss with Lucy Barnes, whose recent research gives cause for doubt.
Host: Dr Alan Renwick
Dr Lucy Barnes
playlist_add
Oct 8, 2020
Checks and Balances in Democracy
The long-standing idea that democracy needs checks and balances is questioned in some quarters. So what is the case for checks and balances, and what are the arguments against? Should we look upon different kinds of checks and balances in different ways? And what are the contemporary tensions bringing these debates to the fore? We explore with three of our leading thinkers on constitutional politics.
Host: Dr Alan Renwick
Professor Meg Russell
Professor Richard Bellamy
Professor Jeff King
playlist_add