POLCAST - Politics Talk from Dundee University Politics Society

Jake and John discuss the irresistable (re)rise of Nigel Farage, anti-lockdown protests, the progress made on a COVID-19 vaccine and the curious case of UKIP's mysterious, apparently prophetic candidate for Mayor of London.

Numerically inept Social Sciences students Jake and John tackle the horrors of mathematics by trying to explain the Electoral College. Afterwards, they discuss the last few days of the U.S Election Campaign, Battle Ground States as well as why the Department of International Trade caused a stir with a tweet about the Great British Bake Off. Finally, they discuss the necessity of free school meals, Marcus Rashford's influence on UK politics and Jeremy Corbyn's suspension from the Labour Party.

A discussion about the changing face of human rights under a COVID  pandemic and our perceptions of freedom in a world of lockdown. Dr. Edzia Carvalho from the University of Dundee joins Jake and John to put human rights, pandemic, lockdown and perceptions of freedom under the microscope in this extra special episode of the Polcast. 

It has been branded "Europe's last dictatorship" - but something is afoot in the country of Belarus. Opposition protests and significant political traction has begun to gain against it's strongman leader Lukashenko and support for Tikhanovskaya who wants to release all political prisoners and hold fair and democratic elections began to rise in the days leading up to the Presidential Election. With the election complete and claims of an 80% victory for Lukashenko, this episode recorded prior to the election takes a look into the buildup to Belarus' nationalism through a cultural, ethnic and historical lens. Joined by Dima Khanenko and special guest co-host Marcin Kielczewski, Jake explores comparisons with Belarus' politically turbulent neighbour Ukraine and civic nationalistic aims in Scotland.

Recently coverage on Human Rights issues in the Xinjiang Province of the People's Republic of China has stepped up considerably with calls from NGOs and some governments for protection of the Uyghur Muslim minority. We are joined by Geopolitics student Luiza Stoenescu who has been analysing the situation on behalf of the POLCAST in this informative dispatch. Assessing the reasons for the Chinese Government's prioritisation of Xinjiang and the creation of controversial re-education camps through an economic and cultural perspective, Jake and John try to get to the bottom of this difficult issue and why some governments are holding back from criticising the Chinese government on this important topic.

With the SNP taking overwhelming control of Scotland's Westminster parliamentary seats over the last few elections, Jake and John pose questions to Scottish Labour supporter Adam Steele about where the future of the party and leftist politics lies. Adam lives in Edinburgh South, the last Scottish Labour House of Commons seat in the country. It's MP, Ian Murray, is an established local figure with a decent majority. Can Murray's success be replicated elsewhere in Scotland? How does Scottish Labour fare in Scottish and Local elections and what can we take away from the difference in these electoral results compared to the most recent General Election?

With COVID-19 dominating every sphere of life in recent times, political or unpolitical, it seems as though the effects of this pandemic could well be one of the shaping factors of the next decade of international relations. With China being the first place that the virus started to spread rapidly, it could be very easy for other nations to shift the blame for the scale of this crisis onto China. Will the relationship between China and Europe change after this pandemic ends? Will we start to see a cautiousness appear in the currently dependent trading relationship between these two parts of the world? In this special extra-length episode, Jake and John pose interesting questions about the future of International Relations to Dr. Scott Brown from the University of Dundee.

Poland's Presidential Election is fast approaching on the 28th of June 2020. Joined by Marcin Kielczewski, Jake and John try to unravel the mystery of the "ghost election" supposedly held in May by law but with all the polling stations closed. How will voting work for Poles living abroad, particularly here in the UK? What implications would Duda or Trzaskowski's election have on Poland's relationship with the European Union? All these questions and more answered by student voices from North East Scotland.

Joined by Politics Society President John Fleming and Treasurer Calvin Lees, host Jake Mace leads a discussion about the difference in lockdown restrictions between the four countries of the United Kingdom. Have the different messages coming from Holyrood, Westminster, Senedd Cymru and Stormont given more basis for nationalism in the UK countries? Will students be forced to live in small social bubbles on return to University this coming semester? Is that even plausible? Burning political questions answered by student voices from North East Scotland and beyond.