International Relations – (M.Sc.)

The disciplinary landscape of International Relations (IR) has expanded considerably in the early twenty-first century, with a number of new challenges confronting a now outmoded global architecture of power. IR´s traditional concern with war, security, and diplomacy, called into question by the end of the Cold War and the current `Global War Against Terror´ has been further complicated by far-reaching epistemological and methodological shifts in social theory. Debates about the nature of globalisation, international institutions, development/post-development, global political economy, culture and identity, citizenship and rights bear prominently on efforts to understand the ebb and flow of contemporary IR. In theory and practice, understanding the modalities of power in constituting the `international,´ as well as challenges to hegemonic stabilizations of it, has gained a particular urgency, making the study of IR central to apprehending the complexity of global social life.
The MScIR/Postgraduate Diploma in International Relations provides a sustained engagement with key issues in contemporary International Relations including development & political economy, critical & human security, globalisation, gender, identity, human rights, and governance. Building on a foundational course on the conceptual/ theoretical underpinnings of IR, the programme offers a range of courses that enable individualized programmes of specialized study on a particular theme or region.
During the course of the programme, students develop:
-A nuanced understanding of key concepts and paradigms that structure the disciplinary study of International Relations and the theoretical and analytical tools to engage debates about them.
-Several areas of thematic and regional specialisation that reflect their research and professional interests. For each area, students develop the relevant empirical and theoretical knowledge and understanding to produce in-depth analysis of complex problems. Taken together, these area choices provide students with an understanding of the multifaceted nature of contemporary International Relations.
-Postgraduate-level skills of intellectual and professional relevance including: research skills, organisation and structure, critical evaluation of sources and arguments, logic of argumentation, independent study and judgement, and written and oral communication.
-MScIR students also complete an in-depth extended research project.

For further information, please contact: Alyson Millar Postgraduate Secretary
School of Social Science
Tel: +44 (0) 1224 272762Email: socscipg@abdn.ac.uk Web: