Our guest this week is Professor Albert Weale, Emeritus Professor of Political Theory and Public Policy at UCL. Following an event honouring his career on his retirement, in this episode, we’re exploring Albert’s life and work as an academic.

Over his career, Albert has published 20 books and more than 150 articles and book chapters on a diverse and impressive array of topics, from the politics of pollution, political legitimacy in the European Union and healthcare, to social contract theory and democracy. He has held faculty positions at Newcastle, York, UEA, Essex and, of course, for more than a decade, here at UCL.

The event held in his honour had an impressive 28 speakers, discussing the prospects for practical public reason, priority setting in healthcare and the best form of social contract theory, and motivating our tackling of climate change, among many other issues. It highlighted the sheer range, depth and importance of the contributions that he has made to the field, both as a political theorist and, above all, as perhaps the leading scholar of the intersection between political theory and public policy.

In this episode we’re exploring some of these contributions, looking back on a long and successful career.

UCL’s Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy offers a uniquely stimulating environment for the study of all fields of politics, including international relations, political theory, human rights, public policy-making and administration. The Department is recognised for its world-class research and policy impact, ranking among the top departments in the UK on both the 2021 Research Excellence Framework and the latest Guardian rankings.