Series 2 Episode 6 – The creation of Scotland’s only political think tank, the Scottish Council for Global Affairs
Created earlier this year, the Scottish Council on Global Affairs (SCGA) is Scotland’s only think tank on international affairs.
In this discussion, Dr Mateja Peter and Professor Philipps O’Brien talk to host Stephen Gethins about the role of SCGA and the importance of a think tank which can explore the big issues affecting Scotland, the UK and the world from a uniquely Scottish perspective.
As Professor O’Brien points out, the wealth of knowledge and expertise on global affairs is huge within Scottish academia and it is with this in mind that the Universities of St Andrews, Edinburgh and Glasgow got together to form the SCGA.
With the backing of both the UK and Scottish Governments, the SCGA wants to educate and inform, create and publicise its work to a wide audience. As well as offering a different perspective on matters than those in a ‘metropolitan bubble’, Dr Peter stressed that the SCGA aims to be accessible not only to academics but also to those working in civil society, so everyone can feed into policy recommendations and benefit from them.
As listeners will hear, topics including security and the High North and feminist foreign policy are key themes to be explored by the SCGA. In addition, as Professor O’Brien says, big issues like the invasion of Ukraine and the impact of a northern superpower up-ending “normal behaviour” in place since 1945, plus climate change and the impact of both activities on food and fuel security, for example, are all issues with direct consequences for Scotland and the UK.