THE launch of a new forum for global affairs, which will look to bring Scottish expertise to world issues, is being launched on Wednesday.
The Scottish Council on Global Affairs (SCGA) will provide a non-partisan hub for world-leading expertise on international issues. Its key objectives include placing expertise at the disposal of public policy and promoting independent, expert-informed debate and discussion of the most pressing international questions.
The SCGA has been set up by a group of Scotland’s leading universities and will look to form new partnerships with business communities and civil society in Scotland and across the UK.
The SCGA’s founding partners are the University of Glasgow, the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh. The Council aims to forge new partnerships in Scotland and beyond with the aim of creating a global affairs institute with international reach and reputation.
Professor Peter Jackson, chair in global security at the University of Glasgow and the first executive director of the SCGA, said: “There has been a pressing need for some years for an institute of international affairs in Scotland.
“The SCGA will promote an independent perspective on global affairs and give voice to the formidable range of expertise on international issues that exists in this country.”
Professor Juliet Kaarbo, chair of foreign policy at the University of Edinburgh said: “This is a significant first step in marshalling the considerable expertise in global affairs in Scotland’s higher education sector.
"The SCGA will be a centre for exciting, high-quality policy-relevant research, debate and dialogue on global issues, such as international conflict, peacebuilding, climate change, economic development and cooperation, and global health.
“The ambition and scope of this new centre is immense and by harnessing expertise from across the United Kingdom, and beyond, it will have a real and positive impact on the world and how we engage with it.”
Professor Phillips O'Brien, chair of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, said: “It’s time that Scotland had a rigorous, non-partisan, people-focussed Global Affairs institute that can bring together brilliant researchers with a range of groups from across society.
“The SCGA will sponsor collaborative research efforts, host a regular series of public events and projects, and establish connections with peoples and groups from around the world. It’s the right institution at the right time.”
READ MORE: Rwanda asylum plans were against Tory promises, SNP say
Its creation as a fully independent institute of international affairs has been supported by all major political parties and was in the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Scottish National Party manifestos at the last election.
Strong links have already been established by the SCGA with the Scottish Government and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
The Scottish Government committed to backing the Scottish Council on Global Affairs in its Programme for Government and has supported its establishment.
External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson said: “As Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine continues, prompting Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since the last world war, it has never been clearer that the challenges that nations face today are global in nature.
“The new Scottish Council on Global Affairs, Scotland’s first global affairs institute, will be marked by its academic freedom. It will develop critical thinking on international issues and Scotland’s place in the world, using the excellent expertise, researchers and universities that Scotland already has.
“Although the Scottish Government warmly welcomes and supports the establishment of the Scottish Council on Global Affairs - as committed to in our latest Programme for Government - this initiative is independent, supported as it is by parties across the political spectrum, making it truly non-partisan.
“I look forward to seeing its first contributions to the great questions of our age.”
READ MORE: Author has the perfect response for trolls attacking his Scots speech to the Scottish parliament
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Minister Amanda Milling said: “The UK Government is proud to be working with the Scottish Council on Global Affairs.
“Bringing three great universities together to create a new foreign policy Think Tank will provide tremendous benefit to Scotland, and the whole of the United Kingdom.”
The SCGA will be a think tank for academics but it also hopes to bring in other people with expertise to contribute from civil society, business, journalism and politics.
The new body will also engage with the public to promote debate in Scotland and the wider United Kingdom around international affairs and the country’s place in the world.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel