International Relations and Social Anthropology

International relations and social anthropology is a combination that provides two complementary ways of understanding the world beyond national borders. International relations examines how states, international institutions, and non-state actors interact, using theoretical frameworks from political science to analyse conflict, cooperation, diplomacy, and global governance. Social anthropology takes a different approach, using long-term ethnographic fieldwork to understand how people in different societies organise their lives, make meaning, and navigate power, including the power structures that international relations describes from above.

At the School of Oriental and African Studies, you will study these two disciplines in an institution with unparalleled expertise in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, the regions where international relations and social anthropology intersect most productively in the study of conflict, colonialism, development, and cultural encounter. You will develop both theoretical and methodological tools from each discipline, building the breadth of understanding needed to engage with the complex realities of international life. The programme includes a foundation year and runs over three or four years full-time.

Graduates of international relations and social anthropology programmes pursue careers in diplomacy, international development, NGOs, humanitarian organisations, think tanks, journalism, and academia. The combination of political analysis and ethnographic sensitivity is particularly valuable in roles that require genuine understanding of how people in different cultural contexts experience and respond to international events and policies. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in international relations, development studies, anthropology, or area studies.