International Security and Global Governance

Our MSc International Security and Global Governance explores urgent contemporary debates about violence, conflict, security and governance from a global perspective.

As the distinctions between civil wars, terrorism, warlord conflict and conventional war have blurred, the corresponding interventions - humanitarian, regional, international and imperial - have been the subject of considerable academic debate and political controversy. Simultaneously, geopolitical rivalries among global powers and the threat of violence and war between states continue to shape international security. Our approach works across disciplines, incorporating political, theoretical, historical, sociological and public policy approaches to produce comprehensive, balanced analyses of contemporary political controversies.

Core modules will examine the changing nature of war, violence and security, and their relationship with state and society. They provide a historical understanding of the evolution of global military, humanitarian and governance institutions and the ideas that shaped them.

You then choose option modules from a wide variety of topics including international security, American foreign policy, globalisation, political theory and sociology, war and conflict, nationalism and religion, and international political economy. The culmination of the course is applying the concepts and methods you have learnt to write a dissertation on the subject that interests you most.

This course is part of our new Birkbeck Flexible Master’s UK, which gives you the choice of how you want to study - on campus, online or via flexible learning, which combines both.