A new semester kicked off for the Master of Global Public Policy program with a conference “Translation in World Politics” which was held at SOAS University in London.
MGPP co-director Evgeny Roshchin was a co-organizer of the event. In modern world public policy is often aimed at issues which are relevant globally. Solutions depend on whether policy makers and stakeholders can work out the terms of agreement, which then actors will be willingly abiding by. The issues at stake in negotiating global solutions are not only about the lack of common interest and trust, but also about the understanding of the very terms of future agreements and concepts that the counterparts use to describe problems that matter to them. The way we translate concepts and terms from one language to another is at the heart of international negotiations and policy-making. The problem is not so much of linguistic nature. Translation is often about the politics of adapting, adjusting and modifying concepts and values, which are alien to one’s political and social context. Making a conceptual choice could also mean a political choice of how and what you represent with the language of policy and governance.
Find more information about the Master of Global Public Policy program at our website
