School of Government and International Affairs

Study Politics and International Relations at SGIA and engage with world-leading experts working in a wide range of subfields across Political Science and International Relations. Our research-led teaching encompasses themes such as power, aggression, and war in the contemporary world order; peace, development, and security; borders and migration; political institutions and behaviour; international political economy; and themes in political philosophy such as the demands of liberty, equality, justice, and civic activism, and the ethics of political violence.  

Research Environment 

SGIA is home to a cluster of lively research groups and interdisciplinary research centres, each offering members the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of research activities. These include public lectures by visiting professors and senior diplomatic officials; graduate conferences at which doctoral researchers can present their work and receive feedback from each other, from visitors, and from our senior faculty; regular research seminars at which our political scientists and international relations scholars present draft research papers that go on to appear in leading scholarly journals; and writing workshops. 

Staff Body 

Our diverse body of researchers at SGIA includes globally leading scholars in Political Philosophy and the History of Political Thought; Comparative Political Science; International Relations and the wider discipline of International Studies; Political Economy and International Political Economy; and Area Studies. Recent publications appear in some of the most prestigious scholarly journals such as Political Analysis, The Journal of Politics, The Journal of Political Philosophy, New Political Economy, The European Journal of International Relations, and the American Political Science Review. And our books appear with leading academic presses such as Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Routledge, and Indiana University Press. 

Impact 

Work by our specialists in conflict and peace-related research is having impact on issues such as including women in peace processes, training peacemakers and police forces, cultural heritage, and conflict prevention. Researchers include Olga Demetriou, Stefanie Kappler, Jutta Bakonyi, and Roger Mac Ginty. 

SGIA researchers have been at the forefront of debates regarding MENA regional security and have engaged with policy communities in the UK, the United States, and the wider international community and international organisations. A particular focus of this research was on missile proliferation, WMDs, and Persian Gulf security concerns arising from inter-state tensions and interactions between regional states and major powers. 

Work by SGIA researchers featured in COP26 and our scholars had a presence at the conference. Our investigations into the politics of the environment and climate change includes exciting new research by Oliver Belcher, Natalie Langford, Anouk Rigterink, and Cameron Harrington. 

Outputs

Over 80% of SGIA research outputs were rated 'Internationally Excellent' or 'World Leading' in REF 2021 and 36% were rated 'World Leading'.  Further information on recent research outputs produced by staff within the School.