Future Global Shocks Series

College of Social Sciences, University of Glasgow

Striking a Balance: Lessons from the Pandemic on Civil Liberties and Social Justice

Seminar Room 237, Advanced Research Centre , University of Glasgow

We live in an era of global shocks. The seismic waves of the 2007/8 financial crash, the devastating impact of climate change, Brexit and the Covid 19 pandemic have rapidly changed the very fabric of our economies, public services, communities, civil liberties and environment. Our political discourse has changed dramatically too with an erosion of trust and the rise in policy making that is more populist than evidence based.A key challenge for any modern democracy is how to prepare for ever-present global shocks, to build greater resilience into our economy and society, to tackle inequalities and to rebuild trust in how decisions are made. Over the course of the autumn of 2022, the University of Glasgow will bring together a range of expertise, experience and propositions to contribute to the necessary discussion on current and future resilience in responding to Global Shocks. This lecture series aims to consider what more we must do as a society to prepare our systems and networks, as well as policy and system relationships, to respond with resilience to the major global challenges we face: from economic crises and an aging population; to future health pandemics and protecting human rights.Each 90-minute event will bring together prominent experts to give their perspective on the global shocks and what they have learnt in their respective fields. Each event will follow a similar format with the 15-minute presentations followed by a 45 minute Q&amp;A to be chaired by former Scottish Government Cabinet Secretaries, Jeane Freeman and Michael Russell, which will facilitate discussion and potentially inform future policy development.

The lockdowns and other restrictions , imposed as the result of the pandemic, eroded individual and collective civil liberties in an unprecedented way. In Scotland there were two emergency bills passed within the first month of the pandemic, as well as legislative consent being given to a similar bill from Westminster. These covered a wide range of issues including freedom of information, travel, working from home, suspension of courts, limits on numbers at weddings and funerals, closure of shops, offices and places of worship, registration of births and deaths and many other normal activities. These laws were followed by a wide range of regulatory instruments that dealt with the detail of restrictions ranging from shutting cinemas to , later in the pandemic, closing hours for pubs. Such restrictions were not unusual - during the pandemic virtually every country curtailed established freedoms for its citizens and some are still doing so. That has led to considerable unrest in certain places and movements to overturn the rules, such as the "Truckers Protest" in Canada. The action of Governments world wide, and reactions to them, have raised important questions about the preservation of human rights during times of crisis. In partnership with the <a href="https://acss.org.uk/campaign-for-social-science/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Campaign for Social Sciences</a> and the <a href="https://scga.scot/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Scottish Council on Global Affairs</a>, our fourth event will consider questions such as: <ul><li>Did governments restrict first and think about the implications later?</li><li>Did some governments use the pandemic as an excuse for the introduction of more permanent controls, changing the balance between the citizen and the state? and </li><li>In the event of another global shock, will governments take the same approach, or find other ways to ensure societal compliance with public health and other imperatives</li></ul>

With contributions from: Professor Peter Jackson, Chair in Global Security (History); Executive Director of the Scottish Council on Global AffairsDr. Kathryn Nash, Chancellor’s Fellow, University of Edinburgh Law SchoolP﻿rofessor Adam Tomkins, Professor - John Millar Chair of Public Law , University of GlasgowDr Sally Witcher OBE, consultant in equality and inclusion; former Chief Executive Officer of Inclusion ScotlandProfessor Graeme Roy, Dean of External Engagement, University of GlasgowProfessor Michael Russell, former Cabinet Secretary for Government Business and Constitutional Relations of Scotland in the Scottish GovernmentL﻿inks to the online event will be sent to your email 1 day &amp; 30 minutes before the event takes place.

This is a hybrid event with in person and on line access available. Please select the appropriate ticket when you register.Please note that by registering to attend this event via Eventbrite you are providing consent for your personal data to be held by Eventbrite and that this data may be held on international servers. Your data will be used for the purposes of event administration only.If you do not wish to provide your personal data in this way, you can also register your attendance by email: lynda.frazer@glasgow.ac.uk

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Room 237B, Advanced Research Centre (ARC), University of Glasgow

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