UCL Political Science Events

As the global balance of power shifts, this timely discussion explores the structural forces reshaping the international system. What does the future of global governance look like in an era of numerous global conflicts, shifting power relations in the global system, and the paralysis of long-standing international intuitions?  What does this mean for trade, security, and international cooperation...

LGBTIQ+ rights face growing pressure worldwide. This seminar explores backlash, state power, and activist resistance across North and South.  As democratic norms weaken and authoritarianism gains ground worldwide, LGBTIQ+ rights are increasingly under pressure. This event explores key trends in LGBTIQ+ politics across the Global North and South, examining how shifting political landscapes are resh...

In an era of rising inequality, cost-of-living crises, and weakened public services, a wealth tax could be a potential solution to collect revenue and redistribute resources. However, implementing a wealth tax can have potentially adverse consequences by prompting capital flight, and may also be unsustainable if implemented as a one-off policy.  Our panel of experts will examine some of the key is...

Critical minerals are increasingly central to global supply chains, particularly those underpinning the clean energy transition, advanced manufacturing, and national security. But what exactly are critical minerals, and why do they matter so much? And what role does commercial diplomacy play in securing access, as countries navigate trade restrictions, strategic partnerships, and geopolitical rela...

In the colonial period, universities did not stand apart from empire, but actively legitimised colonial power through their production of knowledge, training of administrators, and construction of racial and cultural hierarchies.  In the post-colonial era, what role does the modern academy play in shaping these relationships? Our expert panel will explore the role of the modern university and syst...

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming how governments govern and how citizens engage with the state, with far-reaching consequences for democratic processes and institutions. From the growing use of AI in policymaking in the name of efficiency, to the impact of deepfakes on election campaigns, to the use of AI by private companies eager to harvest consumers’ personal data, these technolo...

Limiting catastrophic climate change requires more than incremental emissions reductions. A successful response to mitigate the climate crisis requires a fundamental transformation of the global economy away from fossil fuels. Yet efforts to “defossilize” the global economy raise major economic, political, legal, and ethical questions.  In this event, Elisa Morgera, UN Special Rapporteur on climat...

According to the 2025 World Justice Project Index, the global rule of law recession has not only continued, it has accelerated. From the systematic weakening of judicial independence to the shrinking of civic space, the institutions designed to check power are under siege. This event brings together practitioners who have been at the heart of the rule of law debate during the past decade. The form...

In a rapidly evolving landscape of humanitarian assistance, what is the future for international aid?  Humanitarian aid has long served as a vital tool to deliver relief to vulnerable communities and develop geopolitical goodwill globally. However, the future of international aid now faces unprecedented uncertainty. The dismantling of USAID, the United States’ flagship aid delivery agency, has sen...

In the early 2020s, the integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into corporate strategy and investment decisions was widely regarded as a progressive step toward responsible capitalism. But it has since been the subject of a virulent backlash, most notably in the United States, as conservative critics have vilified ESG practices as "woke capitalism" and a threat to ma...

One of the tools of modern diplomacy against states like Afghanistan, Iran or Russia is to impose economic sanctions. These can take the form of prohibiting trade, asset freezes, impounding ships and property; and they can be imposed on high profile figures like Roman Abramovich, or thousands of lesser known individuals, with 5,300 people currently on the UK Sanctions List.  But how effective are...

From headlines decrying ‘woke culture’ to a rollback of government support for initiatives in the US and other countries, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) has become a polarising topic. But, beyond the headlines, what does EDI actually entail? What have been its institutional and wider-cultural achievements? How should we understand the growing backlash? And what might the future entail for...

The health of democracy around the world is widely seen as being in decline. Many countries are seeing a surge in authoritarian leadership, support for extremist parties, weakening institutional checks and balances, and crackdowns on freedom of protest. The second Trump administration in the United States has spotlighted these trends, raising fundamental questions about the future of democracy. Wh...

Meet the speakers Prof. Habib Naqvi MBE  is the Chief Executive of the NHS Race and Health Observatory. Previously he worked at the Department of Health and Social Care, where he acted as the Policy Lead on the development of the Equality Delivery System. He also has experience in academia, having been awarded the title of Honorary Visiting Professor of Health Equity at the Queen’s Institute for M...

The COP 29 conference once again highlighted divergences between ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ countries with regards to states’ responsibility to limit their carbon emissions and transition away from fossil fuels. According to many poorer countries, restrictions on fossil fuel production and consumption would constrain economic and social development, a burden which they feel is unfair given that...

This seminar demystifies the secret world of consultancy and lobbying. It is an industry which has grown hugely in recent decades, and become an inevitable part of modern policy making. But lobbyists and lobbying are frequently misunderstood. To explain what lobbyists do we have four very senior practitioners, with a wide range of experience between them. Two are consultants, and two in-house lobb...

Meet the speakers Sir Rob Behrens was the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman between 2017 and 2024. Prior to this, he held roles including Complaints Commissioner at the Bar Standards Board, Secretary to the Committee on Standards in Public Life, and Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (Office of the Independent Adjudicator) in England and Wales.  Greg Clark is the Executive Chair...

- Meet the speakers -  Dr. James D. Boys is a Boston-based analyst focused on US political history. He was most recently a Visiting Research Scholar at the Center for Strategic Studies at Tufts University’s Fletcher School. An expert on US politics and grand strategy, he frequently shares his insights as an on-air commentator on CNN, BBC News, Sky News, Al Jazeera, CNBC, etc. Dr. Boys has appeared...

Recorded 24 October 2024. A new government has been in power in Westminster since July. In our Policy & Practice mini-series, Priorities for the new UK Government, we will explore key issues on which the government is—or ought to be—focusing its attention. In the first event in this miniseries, we discuss the Government's central focus: economic growth.  - Meet the speakers-  Emily Fry is a Senior...

For our first Policy & Practice seminar of academic year 2024-2025 we were joined by ex-Ambassador Simona Leskovar . The ex-Ambassador talked about her own experience both in trying to get Slovenia elected to the UN Security Council, but also more broadly about her experience in the UK and within the UN. The talk included a discussion as to why small states matter in international security. We are...

Political Strategist, New European editor-at-large, mental health campaigner and co-host of the country’s Number 1 podcast, The Rest is Politics, Alastair Campbell came to UCL for a special opening event of the UCL Department of Political Science's Policy & Practice seminar series for 2023-24, in partnership with the UCL European Institute and UCL Policy Lab.  His new book "But What Can I Do?" wen...

Our democratic system is not working as well as it should: on this, both the public and most experts agree. But what exactly are the problems? What are the pros and cons of the potential solutions? And are such changes feasible?    Drawing on recent Constitution Unit research into public attitudes to democracy, as well as his own work on electoral systems, referendums, citizens’ assemblies and oth...

Debates over standards in public life have a long history. Their evolution is partly cyclical, reflecting reactions to extended periods of one party in office. But there is also long-term growth in a belief that ministers cannot be trusted to behave well and that more formal structures are needed to check their power. Of late, the view that the abuses and challenges to institutional checks have be...

Drawing on evidence from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, it shows that certain global best practices do exist, and that effective government institutions share a common set of foundational management practices. But different institutions inside governments vary in the extent to which such practices are in place – despite sharing the same governance laws. Prof Schuster therefore advocates...

The current conservative super-majority on the U.S. Supreme Court has a chance to reshape American law in a dramatic way. One such way is in the realm of administrative law, as members of this conservative majority have sought to restrain the powers of federal bureaucratic agencies, as in the 2022 case of West Virginia vs. EPA. Similar future decisions could profoundly affect federal policy implem...