COURSE CURRICULUM

The MA International Relations and Diplomacy programme offers a comprehensive curriculum designed to build a strong understanding of global politics, diplomacy, and international security through a combination of compulsory and optional modules. Core modules include International Relations Theory, where students explore feminist, green, and postcolonial perspectives and apply them to issues such as climate change and the rise of non-Western powers, Contemporary Diplomacy, which examines diplomatic practices since the Second World War and their role in shaping global decision-making, Advanced Academic Skills, which supports postgraduate study through training in research, writing, and critical analysis, and a dissertation that allows independent, supervised research on a chosen topic. The programme is further strengthened by optional modules that broaden analytical and methodological knowledge, including research methods in qualitative and quantitative approaches, War in Theory and Practice, International Security, and Terrorism in a Globalising World, all of which examine evolving forms of conflict and security threats. Additional specialist topics such as Worlding International Relations, Building Peace, NATO Strategy during and after the Cold War, Politics of Public Policy, Dynamics of Civil Wars, Philosophical Issues in the Social Sciences, International Organisations in Global Politics, The Politics of Nuclear Weapons, and Intelligence, War and International Relations provide deeper insight into global governance, conflict dynamics, and policy-making, equipping students with critical thinking, research skills, and practical understanding of international affairs.