Politics and International Relations

Politics and International Relations is a discipline that asks how power is organised, exercised, and contested, both within states and between them. Politics examines the institutions, ideologies, and processes through which societies make collective decisions, from the workings of parliaments and electoral systems to the dynamics of social movements and political parties. International Relations extends this analysis to the global stage, exploring how states, international organisations, non-governmental bodies, and other actors interact across national borders on questions of security, trade, human rights, development, and the environment.

At Goldsmiths' College, this three-year full-time programme benefits from the institution's distinctive intellectual tradition, which brings critical and interdisciplinary perspectives to political analysis. You will engage with political theory and philosophy, comparative politics, international relations theory, and a range of substantive topics in world politics. Goldsmiths' location in London, one of the world's most politically significant cities, provides a stimulating context for studying politics, with access to parliament, international institutions, think tanks, embassies, and civil society organisations.

The department encourages critical engagement with received ideas and takes seriously questions of power, inequality, race, gender, and postcolonial politics that are sometimes marginal in more traditional political science curricula.

Graduates in Politics and International Relations go on to careers in the civil service, diplomacy and foreign affairs, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, politics and political campaigning, journalism, law, finance, policy consultancy, and the third sector. The analytical, research, and communication skills developed by the degree are broadly valued across many professional contexts. Some graduates pursue postgraduate study in politics, international relations, law, public policy, or development studies, often with a view to careers in academia, research, or international affairs.

This is a degree for people who want to understand how the world is governed and who are interested in contributing to that process in some form.