Program
We live in a world of porous borders, where the relations among people, groups, firms, non-governmental organizations and states create an intricate web of connections. The International Politics program tackles difficult questions about power and rules in this complex environment. The program equips students with theoretical and substantive knowledge about the causes, processes, and consequences of conflict and cooperation as played out on the global stage. The course of study stresses the role of the state and other agents both in traditional diplomatic interactions and in increasingly salient transnational problems and processes.
To acquire the necessary analytical tools, students are trained in international relations theory and economics, including state-of-the-art research methods. An important component of the program is the active role taken by students, in consultation with faculty, in directing the focus of their studies by developing a specialization linked to their intellectual interests and professional goals. Students also specialize in a substantive area of the program, in one of the following areas:
- Traditional and new issues in the field of international security, including terrorism, failed states, human security, and insurgency/counterinsurgency.
- Major changes taking place in global governance, and how they impact issues such as climate change, development aid, and ethnic conflict.
- The role of international law in managing international relations.
- Evaluating the performance of major global organizations.
- Human rights and gender dimensions of conflict and post-war transition.
- Causes and consequences of corruption, and efforts to combat it.
- The response of states and international organizations to trafficking, migration, and refugees.
- Security relations and institutions in different global regions.
- Emerging methods of understanding and combating cybercrime.
- Understanding the impact of globalization on global issues and politics.
Students, in consultation with their faculty advisor, also have the option of designing their own specialization to meet their intellectual and career goals. Faculty advisors approve individually designed specializations that are relevant to the International Politics program, coherent and academically sound, and serve the students’ individual goals.
