Politics and International Relations

From geopolitical strategy and human rights advocacy to international economic policies and deeply embedded forms of local political expertise, the degree offers specialized tracks to enhance your professional goals. Students also have an opportunity to join international study tours curated by academic colleagues with leading practitioners across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

The degree is designed for those working—or intending to work—in government and diplomacy, international organisations and NGOs, think tanks and advocacy groups, print and online media, global business, policy and risk analysis, or the academy.

Specialist pathways

Within the MSc, specialist pathways cater to a wide range of academic and professional interests. From geopolitical strategy and human rights advocacy to international economic policies and deeply embedded forms of expertise focused on key regions, there is a specialised track designed to enhance your career.

This customization allows students to delve into their areas of interest while, at the same time, equipping them with specialized skills to set them apart in a competitive global job market. Through a blend of seminars, workshops, real-world simulations, and intensive networking, you are invited to join the next generation of thought leaders, policy influencers, and change-makers around the world.

The Political Thought pathway offers a new approach to the study of political thinking and the ideas that underpin political life. Linked to the SOAS Centre for Comparative Political Thought, this pathway considers political theory as it emerges from everyday political thought, philosophical texts, and cultural production.

Beyond the regions and traditions that have conventionally framed European political theory, this pathway is unique in teaching students to see how concepts ‘travel’ across the world (as a means to examine both political thought and political practice in different times and spaces).

Drawing on SOAS’s unrivalled expertise in the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, the pathway introduces students to the key approaches, debates, and questions in the field of Comparative Political Thought. Graduates of this pathway are well placed for careers in media, think tanks, advocacy, international organisations, diplomacy, and the academy.

Study Tour: ANY (options based on space available)

The International Politics pathway considers a number of important questions: Why do wars happen? Is global peace possible? How is power exercised in international politics? What are the conditions for cooperation among states? How does migration challenge and change the international political order?

Students examine orthodox answers to such questions and, drawing on SOAS’s unrivalled expertise in the politics of the Global South, interrogate them through a variety of critical and non-Western lenses. Students also utilise different theoretical lenses in combination with SOAS’s rich empirical expertise, exploring the dynamics of world politics from the distinctive perspectives of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. We also interrogate how the study and practice of international politics is informed by questions of empire, colonialism, race, gender, and class.

Study tour: ANY (options based on space available)

The Conflict, Rights and Justice pathway is designed for students working, or intending to work, in the field of rights, humanitarian assistance, and transitional justice. It considers the future of global human rights in a world where, many claim, the influence of the West is declining.

It asks critical questions about the legitimacy and effectiveness of transitional justice mechanisms and humanitarian intervention. Students on this pathway also participate in the activities of the SOAS Centre on Conflict, Rights and Justice, including closed and public seminars, workshops, expert briefings and professional trainings, a student-led blog, regular social events, and the Centre’s key internship scheme (for a small group selected through a competitive application process).

Study tour: The Hague

SOAS has the largest network of South Asian Studies scholars in the UK and Europe: it is a global leader in the field. Together with the SOAS South Asia Institute, the South Asia pathway provides an in-depth exploration of a pivotal world region from four interdisciplinary perspectives: political economy, political sociology, political thought, and international relations.

How have nationalist ideas, patterns of rural and urban development, debates about religion, caste, and gender, and the dynamics of nuclear rivalry and security shaped and reshaped South Asia? How might an understanding of politics within South Asia inform an understanding of politics around the world? The South Asia pathway leverages in-depth expertise on India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives to unpack key issues in the study of politics across South Asia. Highlighting an enduring demand for professionals with deep regional knowledge and expertise, the pathway is designed for students seeking careers in government, the NGO sector, international organisations, global business, media, think tanks, and the academy.

Study tour: New Delhi / Lahore

SOAS is a global leader in East Asian Studies, housing several prestigious research centers, including the London Asia-Pacific Centre for Social Science as well as the SOAS China Institute, the Centre of Taiwan Studies, the Centre of Korean Studies, and the Japan Research Centre. SOAS also hosts the world-leading China Quarterly.

The East Asia pathway encourages an in-depth examination of the region’s political landscape, considering both domestic and international dimensions. How do globalisation, nationalism, nuclear competition, and urban development shape the politics of East? What are the underlying factors that influence the politics of ethnicity, religion, and gender in the region?

The East Asia pathway allows students to explore the formal and informal politics of China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea, as well as the broader region and, indeed, the wider world. It is designed for those with an interest in a wide range of public and private-sector careers focused on economic, political, social, strategic, and global trends associated with the politics of East Asia.

Study tour: Seoul

The Southeast Asia pathway offers a multi-faceted exploration of politics in a dynamic and crucial global region. In conjunction with the SOAS Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, the pathway encourages a detailed analysis of Southeast Asian domestic and international politics, not just from a macro-level perspective, but also with reference to the intricacies that shape political life in individual states.

The interplay of historical experience, cultural ethos, and evolving social and global paradigms is highlighted to show particular nations have charted their own unique political journeys. Special attention is paid to the effect of increasing global interconnectivity on local political dynamics, from nationalism and urban development to the politics of ethnicity, culture, gender, and religion. Pulling away from a broad-brush approach, the curriculum delves deeply into the experiences of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Timor Leste.

This ensures that learners gain a holistic understanding of social and political practice, policy formulation, and international affairs across the region, as well as a nuanced appreciation for key political trends, both formal and informal, within individual states.

Study tour: Chiang Mai

SOAS is uniquely positioned to support high-level research and teaching focused on Central Asia and the Caucasus. The Central Asia pathway enables students to acquire a comprehensive understanding of domestic and international politics in a region standing at the crossroads of both Asia and the Middle East, including an appreciation for the role of key external actors such as China, Russia, Turkey, India, and several Western states.

From an inquiry into the nature of Soviet and Russian institutional, economic, and ideological legacies to ongoing debates about modernization, political transition, decolonization, and development, this pathway features a wide range of themes including geopolitics, regional security, energy politics, and forms of authoritarian rule, as well as resistance/protest, ethnic and religious identities, migration, and shifting conceptions of “Eurasianism”.

This broad coverage enables students to understand the specificities of individual states alongside an up-to-date appreciation for the role of Central Asia and the Caucasus within the wider world.

Study tour: Almaty / Bishkek

The Africa pathway explores contemporary debates regarding ideology, power, and political relationships across the African continent: from philosophies of liberation and race to forms of state-building and social protest, from the politics of gender to new forms of global influence and diplomatic power.

These themes are not only central to the continent’s politics, but to understanding how the world works and how political ideas are shaped more broadly. From negotiations over the structure of the international economic system to the politics of international justice, human rights, military intervention, and the climate emergency, the politics of Africa cannot be seen as separate from, or peripheral to, politics in the rest of the world.

Placing Africa at the very centre of global politics, the African Politics pathway sees African dynamics as essential to any adequate understanding of the most important political ideas and forces shaping the world today.

Study tour: Kigali

SOAS has been a leading institution for the study of the Middle East for decades, and the Department of Politics and International Studies is world-renowned for its scholars’ combination of regional and disciplinary expertise focused on this dynamic and influential region. The Middle East pathway is distinguished by the critical perspective of its scholars and tutors, balancing historical and theoretical rigour with coverage of up-to-the-minute regional and global developments.

Students choose from modules covering the politics of resistance, religion, and solidarity, alongside urban politics, infrastructure, migration, human security, and technology (e.g. AI). The programme trains students in several disciplinary approaches — political sociology, political economy, and international relations — whilst encouraging them to think and write across these disciplinary boundaries.

Study tour: Amman

Study tours

Students on the MSc Politics and International Relations also have an opportunity to join one of several international study tours led by academic staff in collaboration with academic colleagues and leading practitioners in key cities: Almaty and Bishkek, Amman, Chiang Mai, Geneva, The Hague, Kigali, Lahore and New Delhi, Paris, and Seoul.

The degree and its pathways are highly relevant for anyone working—or intending to work—in government and diplomacy, international organisations and NGOs, think tanks and advocacy groups, print and online media, global business, policy analysis, and the academy.

Why study MSc Politics and International Relations at SOAS?

• We’re ranked 5th in the UK and 18th worldwide for Politics (QS World University Rankings 2024)
• 4th globally for academic reputation (QS World University Rankings 2024)
• You will be eligible to apply for internships, such as the two paid internships at Amnesty International and Chatham House available to SOAS Politics students this year.
• SOAS is unique - our global student body, multi-disciplinary approach, critical and questioning attitude contribute to a vibrant learning environment that stretches students beyond the focus on basic ‘skills training’.