International Relations
International relations is the study of politics, power, and cooperation at a global scale. It examines how states and other actors, from international organisations and corporations to civil society and non-governmental bodies, interact in a world without a central governing authority. The questions at the heart of the discipline are both theoretical and urgently practical: why do conflicts occur and how can they be resolved, how are human rights protected or violated across borders, what forces drive climate diplomacy, how does globalisation reshape what it means to belong to a nation, and what explains the rise of populism and its effects on international order.
At Keele this three-year full-time programme takes a wide-ranging approach to these questions, developing both your analytical understanding of world politics and the skills to engage with it as a practitioner or scholar. You will study the theory and practice of international relations, covering foreign policy, diplomacy, global governance, security studies, development, and the politics of key regions. Keele's broad approach is reflected in the range of expertise available on the programme, which develops your capacity to interpret global, social, political, and economic interactions and to think critically about competing accounts of how the world works.
A sandwich year and a year abroad are built into the programme, giving you the opportunity for sustained professional experience and international study respectively. Work placements are integrated throughout, making the connection between academic learning and professional practice a genuine feature of the degree.
Graduates of international relations programmes move into careers in the civil service and foreign ministries, international organisations, NGOs, journalism, development agencies, the private sector in roles with international dimensions, and politics. Many also continue to postgraduate study in international relations, security studies, law, or public policy.