State of the World: Global Democracy and Human Rights

The Scottish Council on Global Affairs and the University of Glasgow are delighted to host a roundtable discussion on the state of global democracy and human rights.

According to Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2026, the world is experiencing a deepening “democratic recession” that is occurring in tandem with a marked deterioration of human rights protections. This is no coincidence: whilst democratic institutions are not an automatic guarantee of human rights, they have nonetheless formed an important framework for rights protections for the last seventy years.

In this roundtable, four Scottish-based experts will reflect on the contemporary state of global democracy and human rights, focusing in particular on the roles played by non-governmental organisations, international human rights law, and social policy. They will also reflect on how these issues relate to questions around immigration, citizenship, food sovereignty and the welfare state.

The roundtable is open to the public, and we welcome students and the local community to attend. It will feature a question and answer session, and will be followed by a drinks reception.

Speakers include: Naomi McAuliffe, Amnesty Scotland, Professor Kasey McCall-Smith, University of Edinburgh, Dr. İdil Akıncı-Pérez, University of Edinburgh and Dr. Julia McClure, University of Glasgow.

Chair: Dr. Sarah C. Dunstan, University of Glasgow.

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Host or Publisher Scottish Council on Global Affairs