St Andrews assumes chairmanship of Scotland’s first global affairs think tank

The University of St Andrews has formally assumed chairmanship of the Scottish Council on Global Affairs (SCGA). This was marked on 6 February at an event hosted by the University in the School of Medicine’s Booth Lecture Theatre. Principal Professor Dame Sally Mapstone was joined by First Minister of Scotland John Swinney and former Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Founded in 2022 by the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and St Andrews, “SCGA is the first all-Scotland international relations institute providing a hub for collaborative policy-relevant research and a home for informed, non-partisan debate on all areas of foreign and security policy broadly defined,” according to its website. SCGA was first chaired by the University of Glasgow, and in two years will be chaired by the University of Edinburgh. It is the only think tank of its kind in the UK outside of London, advising the UK government on policymaking, hosting public events, and publishing multidisciplinary research.

The organisation is led by Executive Director Dr Mateja Peter, a Senior Lecturer in the School of International Relations. “We cover a very broad range of topics in global affairs, reflecting the complexity of issues today. Some of the work we do has an explicit Scotland focus, but much of the work we engage in has a broader range, mirroring the wide-ranging expertise in Scotland,” she explained.

“Just this academic year, we organised a workshop on conflict and mediation for research staff supporting the UK Parliament, we held multiple expert meetings with the UK government and visiting diplomatic representatives, and sent experts to participate in international forums,” Peter continued.

The event began with a brief welcome by Principal Sally Mapstone, followed by Swinney’s introduction in which he discussed the importance of the UK’s relationship to the European Union and Scotland’s role in meeting challenges to global security, among other topics. He stated that “Scotland must continue to be a proudly internationalist country,” and emphasised the importance of organisations such as SCGA in enhancing this role.

Expressing his pleasure that he could come to St Andrews on his first visit to Scotland, Varadkar’s keynote talk reflected similar themes. He focused especially on Ireland and Scotland’s strong relationship, as well as small nations’ responsibilities in global politics. Referring to Ireland and Scotland, he said: “The problems we face are local and global, and the solutions, therefore, must be local and global too.” Varadkar said that smaller states can have a positive impact on the world if they unite over common values and provide hubs for discussion and debate.

Swinney and Varadkar’s addresses were followed by a twenty-minute Q&A session. Audience concerns ranged from countries’ cybersecurity vulnerabilities, the potential influence of small nations on climate change mitigation, and the tariffs being instated by US President Donald Trump.

The success of the event was a reflection of SCGA’s purpose — namely to initiate timely dialogue on issues of global importance that affect people on small and large scales.

Image by Mary Henderson