Precautionary principle and covid-19 governance in Scotland

On Wednesday 29 June, we will host an exploratory seminar with presenters Deval Desai (Law), Pedro Cisterna (Law) and Sotiria Grek (SPS). The presenters will also be joined by discussants: Sudeepa Abeysinghe (SPS), Lindsay Paterson (SPS) and Katherine Smith (Strathclyde).

Abstract

Although the Precautionary Principle (PP) has previously been studied in the fields of environmental studies and in global health, recent years -and especially the last two years – have seen its application to the broader field of public policy. In the paper, we explore the entanglements of science, law, and policy in the PP through a case study of one of the more fraught and contested covid governance policies: school closures. We focus specifically on the Scottish case, in order to explore the epistemic, pragmatic, and normative dimensions of the PP in action.

This SKAPE seminar will take place in person at the University of Edinburgh. Please see location details for further information.

Cover photo credit: Solen Feyissa on Unsplash.