The Precautionary State

The Precautionary State

Author: UCL Political Science January 20, 2023 Duration: 44:21

At a time of breakdown in our public health service, unaffordable childcare bills, and a cost of living crisis, questions over how our society should be governed, and what the state should provide, are pressing. 

Meanwhile, the response to the Covid-19 pandemic  and the vulnerabilities in the energy and food supply chains exposed by the war in Ukraine reveal, some think, state failure to plan ahead and make provision, just in case. 

One person who has thought long and hard about what functions the state should exercise, and how it ought to perform them, is Albert Weale, Emeritus Professor of Political Theory and Public Policy here in the UCL Department of Political Science. Longstanding listeners to UCL Uncovering Politics may remember an episode we did with him a couple of years ago on his major book Modern Social Contract Theory, which explored the principles that should guide decisions on the role of the state. 

Albert is now building on that foundation to develop a new approach to thinking about the role of the state, which he calls the ‘precautionary state’ – one that moves from ‘just in time’ systems, to a ‘just in case’ approach, with ample provision of public goods.


Mentioned in this episode:


Ever wonder what happens when sharp academic minds turn their focus to the headlines? UCL Uncovering Politics pulls back the curtain on the forces shaping our world, straight from the heart of one of the world's leading universities. This isn't a lecture series, but a series of conversations where complex ideas about power, culture, and society are made accessible and urgent. You'll hear researchers from UCL's Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy dissect everything from voting behaviour and international conflict to the philosophy underlying our social structures, connecting rigorous scholarship directly to current events. Each episode feels like sitting in on a fascinating discussion between experts who are as curious about the "why" behind political phenomena as they are knowledgeable. The podcast serves as a direct line to cutting-edge analysis, offering depth and context that goes far beyond the daily news cycle. By spotlighting the fantastic work done within the department, it provides listeners with a richer, more nuanced understanding of the mechanics behind culture, government, and the news we consume. Tune in for a thoughtful and genuinely enlightening exploration of contemporary politics, grounded in research but always engaged with the real world.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 161

UCL Uncovering Politics
Podcast Episodes
Managing Diversity Amongst the EU Member States [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:08
For around a decade, the EU – which was founded by the principles of freedom, democracy and the rule of law – has been struggling to contain anti-democratic developments in some member states. More broadly, the European…
The Battle for LGBT+ Rights [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:42
One of the most remarkable transformations over recent decades has been the growing acceptance and celebration of LGBT+ rights. Here in the UK, for example, the proportion of respondents to the British Social Attitudes s…
How Parliaments Question Prime Ministers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:22
How parliaments hold ministers (particularly prime ministers) to account is a fundamental part of parliamentary democracy. And one of those mechanisms of accountability involves asking questions. We take a good hard look…
The Future of Power-Sharing in Northern Ireland [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:31
Peace in Northern Ireland is widely recognised as one of the leading achievements of politics in recent decades. The Good Friday, or Belfast Agreement, reached in 1998 by the British and Irish governments and most of the…
Improving Public Services [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:38
The quality of public services – whether health, education, water supply, or sewage disposal – has a big impact on all of our lives. How to enhance that quality is therefore one of the big questions for political studies…
Russian Discourses of Sovereignty [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:46
Analysts of Russia’s war in Ukraine have often – since its inception in 2014 – highlighted a seeming contradiction. On the one hand, Russia is violating the sovereignty of a neighbouring state in pursuit of its own inter…
Historical Research in Political Science [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:56
Political science is centrally concerned with understanding how politics works. It’s a discipline of the present tense, and the bulk of our research focuses on gathering evidence in the here and now. But sometimes politi…
Climate Change Loss and Damage [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:39
Our guest today is Professor Lisa Vanhala. A Professor in Political Science here at UCL and an expert on the politics of climate change. Lisa recently gave her inaugural lecture: Governing the End: The Making of Climate…
'Acts of speech' and how people recieve them [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:35
Today we are examining speech acts and uptake. A central contribution from J. L. Austin has been the idea that our speech sometimes doesn’t only say things – sometimes it does things. When we speak, we don’t only convey…
The Domestic Politics of IMF Lending [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:36
The book that we’re discussing in this episode suggests that IMF funding becomes a resource held by local leaders, which those leaders can use to benefit their own supporters to the detriment of the rest of the populatio…