Suchergebnisse

Political philosophy is that area of philosophy dealing with politics and government, that unstable mix of war and foedus, conflictual division and authoritative union. As 'philosophy' it is part of the vita contemplativa, which is pure thinking; as 'political' it has always something to do with vita activa, that is action and praxis in a world that exists with its own rules and language games before any philosophical attempt to make that world the embodiment of a theory as Plato did (Arendt, 1953, 1959). Philosophy, like science, is about truth whereas politics is about power or, more accu¬rately, 'the constrained use of social power' (Goodin and Klingemann, 1996). This formulation reintroduces truth into the possible constraints alongside rhetoric, persuasion, compromise and negotiation.

This year is the 70th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned longer than any previous British monarch.

2022 will see the launch of the long awaited Covid inquiry. One key set of issues will involve the role of scientific advice: how it is gathered, and co-ordinated; how it is fed in to ministers; how uncertain or conflicting advice is handled; how transparent and accountable the whole process is; and how to improve the handling of scientific advice in future.

The Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically illustrated the importance of good data in informing government policy, and led to important innovations in the way data is collected, analysed and disseminated.

The British media tend to report on Brexit only from the British point of view. In this seminar we redress the balance.

We will measure and track the multiple dimensions of equity in the internal and external workings of UK development organisations to influence meaningful change in their policies, practices, and partnerships.

The Equity Index is a UK social enterprise advocating for greater equity across the international development sector. We will measure and track the multiple dimensions of equity in the internal and external workings of UK development organisations to influence meaningful change in their policies, practices, and partnerships. This includes racial and gender equity, equity in knowledge production, in funding, in collaborations and more. We are an anti-racist and feminist organisation that supports the broader decolonising development and Shift the Power movements.

Brexit has shaken British politics and raised important questions about how our democracy functions.

Philip Rycroft, who was the lead civil servant on constitutional issues within the UK Government from 2012 to 2019, will examine how much Brexit has stressed the democratic process. He will look at trust in the institutions of the state and the state of democratic representation across the UK. He will ask what this means for the future of our democratic institutions and for the future of the United Kingdom itself.

About the speaker

Philip Rycroft worked in the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) between March 2017 and March 2019, from October 2017 as Permanent Secretary. He was responsible for leading the department in all its work on the Government's preparations for Brexit. From June 2015 to March 2019 he was head of the UK Governance Group in the Cabinet Office, with responsibility for advising ministers on all aspects of the constitution and devolution. From May 2012 to May 2015, he was the Director General in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.

Through his career, Philip worked in a variety roles, in the civil service in Scotland and London, in the European Commission and in business.
He is now an academic and independent consultant.