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Our research is focused around three broad themes: conflict, peace and security; the evolving character of global and supra-national institutions; and the interpenetration of civil societies and international relations. In addition we have major strengths in area studies which help to ground our research into these broad thematic areas. Some of this activity is carried out under the umbrella of our various research centres, some within other collaborative contexts both within and outside the university, and some by individual researchers.

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Digital Commons @ USF > College of Arts and Sciences > School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies > Theses and Dissertations

Government and International Affairs Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2023 2023.

Standing Her Ground: Legal Constraints on Women Who have been Victims of Violence , Janae E. Thomas

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Struggling Against the Odds: Social Movements in Pakistan During Authoritarian Regimes , Sajjad Hussain

The Domestic Reality of Foreign Policy: The 1994 Clinton Administration Response to the Crises in Rwanda and Haiti , Camara Kemanini Silver

American Military Service and Identity: From the Militia to the All-Volunteer Force , Andrew C. Sparks

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Decolonizing Human Trafficking: A Case Study of Human Trafficking in Edo State Nigeria , Oyinkansola Adepitan

Borges, el Escritor Italiano: Precursores Italianos en/desde Borges , Sara Boscagli

A Dangerous New Era: Analyzing the Impact of Cyber Technology on International Conflict , Kenneth Brown

Networks in the Norm Life Cycle and the Diffusion of Environmental Norms , James E. Fry

Power, Property Rights, and Political Development: A property rights theory of political development and its application to the study of development in Honduras and Costa Rica , Ricardo R. Noé

Bodily Harm: An Analysis of the Phenomenological and Linguistic Aspects of Harm and Trauma , Grant Samuel Peeler

Mystic Medicine: Afro-Jamaican Religio-Cultural Epistemology and the Decolonization of Health , Jake Wumkes

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

The Humanitarian Gaze and the Spectatorial Nature of Sympathy , Michelle Assaad

The Progressive Transformation of Medellín- Colombia: A Successful Case of Women's Political Agency , María Auxiliadora González-Malabet

Restoring International Justice: Exposing the Limitations of Retributive Justice and Proposing a Restorative Dimension , Nazek Jawad

Human Rights, Emotion, and Critical Realism: Proposing an Emotional Ontology of International Human Rights , Ben Luongo

When Faced with a Democracy: political socialization of first-generation ethnic Russian immigrants in Central and South Florida , Marina Seraphine Mendez

Structure of Turkey-USA Bilateral Relations and Analysis of Factors Affecting Bilateral Relations , Hanifi Ozkarakaya

Soviet Nationality Policy: Impact on Ethnic Conflict in Abkhazia and South Ossetia , Nevzat Torun

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

The Influence of The Armenian Diaspora on The American Foreign Policy , Fatih Aydogan

Discourse, Affinity and Attraction: A Case Study of Iran's Soft Power Strategy in Afghanistan , Hiva Feizi

Becoming Legitimate: How PMSCs are Seeking Legitimacy in the International System , Sommer Mitchell

De Mestizas a Indígenas: Reindigenization as a Political Strategy in Ecuador , Pamela X. Pareja

Star Power, Pandemics, and Politics: The Role of Cultural Elites in Global Health Security , Holly Lynne Swayne

Strategic Negligence: Why the United States Failed to Provide Military Support to the Syrian Resistance in 2011-2014 , Konrad J. Trautman

The Viability of Democratic Governance in De Facto States: A Comparative Case Study of Iraqi Kurdistan and Syria Rojava , Chelsea Vogel

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

Cyber Deterrence against Cyberwar between the United States and China: A Power Transition Theory Perspective , Yavuz Akdag

The Role of Elites in the Formation of National Identities: The Case of Montenegro , Muhammed F. Erdem

Measuring Trust in Post-Communist States: Making the Case for Particularized Trust. , Nicole M. Ford

Hidden: A Case Study on Human Trafficking in Costa Rica , Timothy Adam Golob

Latino Subgroups Political Participation in American Politics: The Other Latinos’ Electoral Behavior , Angelica Maria Leon Velez

Re-ethnicization of Second Generation Non-Muslim Asian Indians in the U.S. , Radha Moorthy

Structural Racism: Racists without Racism in Liberal Institutions within Colorblind States , Alexis Nicole Mootoo

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

Venezuela, from Charisma to Mimicry: The Rise and Fall of a Televised Political Drama , Rebecca Blackwell

Containment: A Failed American Foreign Policy and How the Truman Doctrine Led to the Rise in Islamic Extremism in the Muslim World , Christopher Jonathan Gerber

The Role of Religion in Mitigating Cancer Disparities Among Black Americans , Samar Hennawi

Where is the Survivor’s Voice? An Examination of the Individual and Structural Challenges to the Reintegration of Immigrant Human Trafficking Survivors , Michelle Cristina Angelo Dantas Rocha

Changes and Challenges in Diplomacy: An Evaluation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Dominican Republic , Yudelka Santana

How Presidents Can Become "Hip" by Using High Definition Metaphors Strategic Communication of Leadership in a Digital Age , Mirela Camelia Stimus

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

At the Intersection of Human Agency and Technology: Genetically Modified Organisms , James Libengood

The Triumvirate of Intersectionality: a Case Study on the Mobilization of Domésticas in Brazil , Kristen Lei Nash

Strategic Missile Defense: Russian and U.S. Policies and Their Effects on Future Weapons Proliferation , Diana Marie Nesbitt

Staring Down the Mukhabarat: Rhizomatic Social Movements and the Egyptian and Syrian Arab Spring , Stephen Michael Strenges

The Effect of Neoliberalism on Capabilities: Evaluating the Case of Mexico , James Paul Walker

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

Human Trafficking from Southern Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala: Why These Victims are Trafficked into Modern Day Florida , Timothy Adam Golob

The Effects of U.S. Middle East Foreign Policy on American Muslims: A Case Study of Muslims in Tampa Bay , Mark G. Grzegorzewski

Does Revolution Breed Radicalism? An Analysis of the Stalled Revolution in Syria and the Radical Forces Since Unleashed , Ryan King Little

The United States Prison System: A Comparative Analysis , Rachel O'connor

Fair Trade in Transition: Evolution, Popular Discourse, and the Case of the CADO Cooperative in Cotopaxi, Ecuador , Robyn Michelle Odegard

Challenging the Democratic Peace Theory - The Role of US-China Relationship , Toni Ann Pazienza

Continuation in US Foreign Policy: An Offensive Realist Perspective , Bledar Prifti

The Syrian Civil War: Four Concentric Forces of Tensions , Majid Rafizadeh

Key Ingredients in the Rule of Law Recipe: The Role of Judicial Independence in the Effective Establishment of the Rule of Law , Lauren A. Shumate

Leges, Plebiscita, et Rogationes: Democratization and Legislative Action, 494 - 88 BC , Eric Wolters

An Analysis of State Building: The Relationship between Pashtun 'Para-State' Institutions and Political Instability in Afghanistan , Rebecca Young Greven

Accessibility's Influence on Population Location near Light Rail in the Denver Region , Christophe Michael Zuppa

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

A Comparative Study: How Educational and Healthcare Preparedness Affected Marketization of the Chinese and Indian Economies , Cindy Arjoon

Accidental Detention: A Threat to the Legitimacy of Venezuelan Democracy , Mabel Gabriela Durán-Sánchez

European Union Institutions, Democratic Discourse, and the Color Revolutions , Lizette G. Howard

The End of Anarchy: Weapons of Mass Destruction and the States System , Gregory Edward Johnson

Trends in the Contracting out of Local Government Services , Cristiane Carvalho Keetch

Framing Colombian Women's Beliefs, Values and Attitude Towards Sex and Sexual High-Risk Behaviors , Rosa Ore

Impacts of U.S. Foreign Policy and Intervention on Guatemala: Mid-20th Century , Patricia M. Plantamura

Maximizing Citizenship with Minimal Representation: An Analysis of Afro-Argentine Civil Society Organizing Strategies , Prisca Suarez

From Zaire to the DRC: A Case Study of State Failure , Adam Zachariah Trautman

Guanxi, Networks and Economic Development: The Impact of Cultural Connections , Patricia Anne Weeks

Comparative Political Corruption in the United States: The Florida Perspective , Andrew Jonathon Wilson

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

Modernization From Above: Social Mobilization, Political Institutionalization and Instability: A Case Study of Iran (1953-1979) , Jeffrey Robert Cobb

The Relationship between the Social Construction of Race and the Black/White Test Score Gap in , Toriano M. Dempsey

The Causes and Effects of Get Tough: A Look at How Tough-on-Crime Policies Rose to the Agenda and an Examination of Their Effects on Prison Populations and Crime , Cheyenne Morales Harty

Hegemonic Rivalry in the Maghreb: Algeria and Morocco in the Western Sahara Conflict , Michael D. Jacobs

The Politics of Pentecostalism; Does it Help or Hinder Democratic Consolidation in Brazil? , Amber S. Johansen

Women's Political Representation in Europe: An Analysis of Structural and Attitudinal Factors , Jenna Elaine Mcculloch

Examining the Relationship between Participatory Democracy and Nonwhite Domestic Workers in Porto Alegre, Brazil: Issues of Race, Class and Privilege , Alexis Nicole Mootoo

The Indigenous Movement and the Struggle for Political Representation in Bolivia , Angelica T. Nieves

MAS and the Indigenous People of Bolivia , Maral Shoaei

Cyberwar and International Law: An English School Perspective , Anthony F. Sinopoli

The Homegrown Jihad: A Comparative Study of Youth Radicalization in the United States and Europe , William Wolfberg

Theses/Dissertations from 2011 2011

The State and the Legalization of Dual Citizenship/Dual Nationality: A Case Study of Mexico and the Philippines , Pamela Kim Anderson

The Integration of African Muslim Minority: A Critique of French Philosophy and Policy , Amber Nichole Dillender

Elections and Tensions and Constitutions! Oh, My! A Process-Oriented Analysis of Bolivian Democratization from 1993 to 2009 , Laurel Kristin Dwyer

Cuban Medical Internationalism: A Case for International Solidarity in Foreign Policy Decision Making , Eric James Fiske

The Threat to Democracy in Brazil's Public Sphere , Daniel Nettuno

Prospects for Political Reform in China , Jody Lee Tomlin

Theses/Dissertations from 2010 2010

The Positive- and Negative-Right Conceptions of Freedom of Speech and the Specter of Reimposing the Broadcast Fairness Doctrine ... or Something Like It , Adam Fowler

The Christian Zionist Lobby and U.S.-Israel Policy , Mark G. Grzegorzewski

An Analysis of U.S. Policies Targeting the Iranian Nuclear Program , Bryan T. Hamilton

Religion and Resistance: The Role of Islamic Doctrine in Hamas and Hezbollah , Matthew Lawson

Prospects for Nuclear Non-Proliferation: An Actor-Oriented Case Study of Iran’s Future , James Martin Lockwood

Impact of Globalization on Socio-Economic and Political Development of the Central Asian Countries , Karina Orozalieva

Mubarak’s Machine: The Durability of the Authoritarian Regime in Egypt , Andrea M. Perkins

International Society Cosmopolitan Politics and World Society , Kimberly Weaver

Theses/Dissertations from 2009 2009

From China to Cuba: Guerilla Warfare as a Mechanism for Mobilizing Resources , Jorge Barrera

Neoliberalism and Dependence: A Case Study of The Orphan Care Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa , Christine Concetta Gibson

City Level Development New Key to Successful Development , Gina Herron

The neoconservative war on modernity: The Bush Doctrine and its resistance to legitimation , Ben Luongo

The Security and Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran: An Offensive Realism Perspective , Bledar Prifti

Transdiscursive cosmopolitanism: Foucauldian freedom, subjectivity, and the power of resistance , Joanna Rozpedowski

Making and Keeping the Peace: An Analysis of African Union Efficacy , Nicholas Temple

Social Implications of Fair Trade Coffee in Chiapas, Mexico: Toward Alternative Economic Integration , Joseph J. Torok

Theses/Dissertations from 2008 2008

Role of Culture in Economic Development: China Study of China and Latin America , Amira Fellner

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International Relations Dissertation Topics and Titles – Free Advice

Published by Owen Ingram at January 9th, 2023 , Revised On May 2, 2024

Introduction

International relations studies the relationships between different countries, economies, regions, and governments whilst considering the importance of trade, economic relations, foreign policies, international security, and diplomacy.

International relations do not focus on a single country but discuss how a particular event or incident affects countries in one or more regions. Thus, each country needs to ensure that its international and economic relations with other countries are valuable and longstanding.

International relations are essential to understanding current political events and their impact on different countries. Whether it is the world war, oil crisis, 9/11, Brexit, or any other major event, the subject of international relations explores them in detail and provides insight into how they will affect other countries.

Studying international relations helps us understand how the world operates, how countries connect, and how they are affected by policy changes in another country or when a major incident occurs.

To help you get started with brainstorming for international relations topic ideas, we have developed a list of the latest topics that can be used for writing your dissertation.

These topics have been developed by PhD qualified writers of our team , so you can trust to use these topics for drafting your dissertation.

You may also want to start your dissertation by requesting a brief research proposal from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an introduction to the topic, research question, aim and objectives, literature review, and the proposed methodology of research to be conducted. Let us know  if you need any help in getting started.

Check our  dissertation examples  to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

Review the full list of  dissertation topics here.

Top IR Dissertation Topics

Topic: 1: economic security a new lens in international relations- a study to find the role of economic security in foreign policymaking in developing countries.

Research Aim: This research aims to find the role of economic security in foreign policymaking in developing countries. It will review the concept of economic security and its introduction into the international relations discourse. Moreover, it will show why it helps developing countries. And how can they incorporate it into their foreign policymaking? How much progress have they made so far while implementing it? And what can they do about it in the future?

Topic: 2: Russia vs. Ukraine a Geostrategic or Ideological Conflict? An Analysis to Identify the Actual Cause of Russia-Ukraine from Geostrategic and Ideological Lenses

Research Aim: This study intends to analyse the actual cause of Russia-Ukraine from geostrategic and ideological lenses. It will be a comparative study using various international relations (IR) lenses such as realism, liberalism, geostrategic, geo-economics, geo-political, etc., to show which lens finds appropriate reasoning for the Russia-Ukraine going to war. Moreover, it will identify various economic, political, and social forces driving this war. Lastly, it will find out who will be the prime beneficiary of this war other than Russia.

Topic: 3: Political Economy of Global Terrorism- An Assessment of the Political and Economic Forces Behind Global Terrorism

Research Aim: This research sheds light on the political and economic forces behind global terrorism. It will find how various political and economic powers, such as states, organisations, business groups, politicians, etc., deliberately promote terrorism for their political and financial motives. It will use various case studies such as terrorism in Pakistan and other developing countries and significant conflicts such as Israel-Palestine, Russia-Ukraine, etc. Moreover, it will show how small governments can create a political-economic-security framework to avoid terrorism for the benefit of foreign powers.

Topic: 4: The Role of Western Powers in Israel-Palestine- A Third World Country Viewpoint

Research Aim: This research assesses the role of Western powers such as the US, UK, and EU in the Israel-Palestine conflict from a third-world country viewpoint, such as India, Pakistan, etc. It will show how third-world countries evaluate this conflict on political, economic, social, and national security bases. Moreover, it will show what lessons these countries can learn from this conflict to save themselves from significant future disputes and formulate their foreign policy according to these lessons. Lastly, it shows which side these countries take in Israel-Palestine and on which grounds.

Topic: 5: Why the Middle East is Crucial for the West? A Geo-economic and Geostrategic Analysis

Research Aim: This research will show why the Middle East is crucial for the West through a geo-economic and geostrategic analysis. It will find why Western powers, such as the US, Europe, etc., invaded the Middle East from a geo-economic and geostrategic lens. It will show what these powers gained and lost in these invasions. And do geo-economic and geostrategic factors incentivize Western powers to invade the Middle East again? Lastly, how can the Middle East protect its rights and gains in the future by applying geo-economic and geostrategic analysis?

Topic 6: Impact of Terrorism and Religion on Relations between Afghanistan and US

This research analyses the dynamics between terrorism and religion and their influence on the bilateral relations between Afghanistan and the United States, to understand how these factors have shaped diplomatic, political, and socio-cultural interactions.

Topic 7: An Analysis of the Afghanistan Peace Process

This study critically examines the complexities and challenges of the Afghanistan peace process. It focuses on understanding the various stakeholders involved, their motivations, the negotiation dynamics, and the impact of historical, political, and socio-cultural factors on the prospects for sustainable peace and stability in the region.

Topic 8: The Role of the Arab Nations in the Israel - Palestine Conflict

The research investigates the role of Arab nations in the Israel-Palestine conflict. It focuses on their historical, political, diplomatic, and socio-cultural contributions, interventions, and impact on the conflict dynamics and the prospects for peace in the region.

Topic 9: The Effect of USMCA on International Trade

The study explores the effect of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on international trade. The research investigates USMCA’s impact on its economic, political, and social implications for the member countries and the broader global trade landscape.

Topic 10: An Analysis of Women's Participation in International Relations

This study critically analyses the participation of women in the field of international relations. It examines the factors influencing their involvement, the challenges they face, the contributions they make, and the implications for global governance, diplomacy, and security.

Topic 11: An Analysis of the Failure of the UN's Nuclear Disarmament Plans

The study analyses the factors contributing to the failure of the United Nations’ nuclear disarmament plans. It examines the historical attempts, diplomatic challenges, political obstacles, and the role of state actors, non-state actors, and international power dynamics in hindering progress toward global nuclear disarmament goals.

Topic 12: An Investigation of How the Syrian Crisis Turned Into A Civil War

The research aims to investigate the complex factors and events that led to the transformation of the Syrian crisis into a civil war, examining socio-political, historical, economic, and regional dynamics, as well as the roles of state and non-state actors, to gain insights into the escalation and perpetuation of the conflict.

COVID -19 International Relations Research Topics

Topic: 1: international relations and covid-19.

Research Aim: This study will address the geopolitical issues and International relations during COVID-19

Topic: 2: COVID-19 is a geopolitical instrument

Research Aim: COVID -19 has disturbed everything from health to the world’s economy, and it has also created tensions among the nations of the world. This study will identify whether Coronavirus is a geopolitical instrument or not.

Topic: 3: International Relations Scholars and COVID-19

Research Aim: This study will reveal the opinions and role of International relations scholars and COVID-19

Topic: 4: Meta-geopolitics and COVID-19

Research Aim: This study will focus on the meta-geopolitics during the COVID-19 crisis

Topic: 5: The global order post Coronavirus pandemic

Research Aim: This study will predict the global order of the Coronavirus pandemic, including international relations, geopolitics, and geo-economics after COVID-19.

International Relations Research Topics

Conflicts between india and china.

Research Aim: This research aims to address the conflicts between India and China, the history and current situation of the two nations, and their government’s role.

Organisation of Islamic cooperation during the pandemic

Research Aim: This research aims to conduct an in-depth study on the contribution of the organisation of Islamic cooperation during a pandemic

New immigration rules of the UK

Research Aim: This research aims to highlight the new immigration rules of the UK and their impacts on immigrants.

China’s economic growth- Its impact on the world

Research Aim: This research aims to highlight the impact of China’s economic growth on the world

The role of the UN in resolving the Indo-Pak conflict in Kashmir

Research Aim: This research aims to address the role of the UN in resolving the Indo-Pak conflict on the matter of Kashmir

9/11: How has it Shaped International Trade between the West and the Arab Countries?

Research Aim: There is no doubt that 9/11 is one of the major incidents that shook the entire world. An attack on the twin towers killed hundreds and left thousands injured. Loss of lives, property, and money were not the only losses resulting from this incident.

With Al-Qaeda accepting the attack’s responsibility, the American government cut ties with many countries responsible for funding the terrorist organisation. The country initiated the war on terror shortly after the incident; however, the effects were experienced worldwide and long-term.

This dissertation will focus on how trade was affected by post 9/11 and how the US ties with the Arab world were severely affected.

China’s Growth as the Superpower: Is the US threatened?

Research Aim: China is the next superpower; there is no second thought about it. However, the growth of this economic giant has left huge gaps in the international trade market. With America being the superpower for ages, the country is now threatened with China’s economic progress.

The two countries may have good terms on the surface; however, they compete on a whole new level in the international market. This research will talk about China’s progress, how the country has evolved as a superpower, and how it poses a threat to the United States of America. All aspects, including trade, policy framing, etc., will be discussed to provide a detailed analysis.

How Can ResearchProspect Help?

ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service , which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions , literature review , methodology , expected results , and conclusion . The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service !

Does Germany’s Foreign Policy Influence the Rest of Europe?

Research Aim: Germany dominates the European Union. Policies, tariffs, currency, trade, international business, etc., are designed keeping in mind Germany. This research will discuss how the European Union is dominated by Germany, particularly after the Brexit.

Every country can draft policies considering its economic position and ties with other countries. However, the European Union has to consider Germany while formulating any new foreign policy. The dissertation will discuss why this happens and how European countries draft their foreign policy considering Germany.

Exploring the Causes of Conflicts between the African Nations and their Relationships with the West

Research Aim: African countries have suffered a lot over the last several centuries. Some countries are poor and do not have enough resources to provide facilities to the country’s people, while the rest do not enjoy healthy political relations with the rest of the world.

Many African countries have different policies compared to the Western world, which is why conflicts arise. Moreover, racial discrimination is another major factor why the two regions have never shared healthy relations.

This research will investigate the underlying reasons for conflicts between the African and the Western world and how they can be bridged.

Is Africa a Concern for the Western World?

Research Aim: A few African nations are rich in natural resources but in political turmoil, so other countries have always tried to take advantage of them. However, all international trades must be conducted concerning foreign policies in place. It is only through international trade laws that such businesses must avoid any unfair and biased distribution.

Unfortunately, the western world has always dominated the African nations and have barely given them their right. This thesis will explore the notion that western countries always try and find a way to dominate the African countries even when they deserve a larger share of the pie.

Russia and the Western World: A look into History

Research Aim: The relations between Russia and the Western world, specifically the US, are known worldwide. The Cold War and the aftermath of the war will all be discussed in detail in this dissertation. Many histories and international relations experts believe that the cold war has not ended and is going on to date. This notion will be researched, discussed, and analysed in this research to provide a complete insight into the current political situation. However, a major part of the thesis will focus on the history of these countries and the events.

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China’s Economic Growth – The Effects and Consequences on the World

Research Aim: China is taking over the world – this is a fact. Whether a country or a nation accepts it or not, China is slowly making its way to becoming a superpower. Be it technology, daily products, banking, financial services, or any other thing. China has outclassed all other countries of the world.

Considering China’s rapid progress, many countries have accepted China as the future superpower and tried to maintain a good relationship. However, on the other hand, other countries do not accept China as the next superpower and are ready to fight for it.

An example is the United States, the current superpower and is not ready to lose China. This research will discuss China’s impact on its products and services and its consequences of becoming an economic superpower.

The Role of United Nations in Resolving the Arab-Israel Conflict

Research Aim: The Arab-Israel Conflict is an ancient battle. The war broke out for reasons that are not to all and is still going on to date. However, the stance of the Arab countries has not changed since Israel first started to occupy Arab lands.

The Arab world does not accept Israel as a state. Instead, it has been termed as a terrorist funding state. Moreover, the Israel-Palestine conflict has added fuel to the fire. Many Muslim countries, until now, are not ready to accept Israel. This research will talk about the conflict and how the United Nations have played their part in bridging the gap between the two nations.

Understanding the Role of the EU in International Relations

Research Aim: European Union is a critical region in trade, business, political relations, etc. Thus, the region has tremendous effects on the international relations of the world.

This thesis will discuss the role of the European Union in international relations, how European Union is a key player in international politics, and how other nations should work on their policies and frameworks to develop healthy relations with the EU.

Assessing the Role of the United Nations as a Law Enforcement Agency

Research Aim: The United Nations is an organisation formed to help countries and regions resolve conflicts between them. Issues such as Kashmir (India-Pakistan) and Israel-Palestine are longstanding and must be solved by the United Nations. There is a complete framework that forms the basis of the actions and decisions taken by the United Nations.

Votes are collected from the members on a particular issue, and then a decision or a statement is issued over the conflict. This research will assess the role of the United Nations in resolving world conflicts and how successful or unsuccessful the organisation has been in resolving world conflicts.

Important Notes:

As a student of international relations looking to get good grades, it is essential to develop new ideas and experiment with existing international relations theories – i.e., to add value and interest to your research topic.

International relations are vast and interrelated to many other academic disciplines like politics , law , geopolitics , history , and even business . That is why it is imperative to create an international relations dissertation topic that is particular and sound and actually solves a practical problem that may be rampant in the field.

We can’t stress how important it is to develop a logical research topic based on your entire research. There are several significant downfalls to getting your topic wrong: your supervisor may not be interested in working on it, the topic has no academic creditability, the research may not make logical sense, and there is a possibility that the study is not viable.

This impacts your time and efforts in writing your dissertation , as you may end up in a cycle of rejection at the initial stage of the dissertation. That is why we recommend reviewing existing research to develop a topic, taking advice from your supervisor, and even asking for help in this particular stage of your dissertation.

Keeping our advice in mind while developing a research topic will allow you to pick one of the best international relations dissertation topics that fulfil your requirement of writing a research paper and adds to the body of knowledge.

Therefore, it is recommended that when finalizing your dissertation topic, you read recently published literature to identify gaps in the research that you may help fill.

Remember- dissertation topics need to be unique, solve an identified problem, be logical, and be practically implemented. Please look at some of our sample international relations dissertation topics to get an idea for your own dissertation.

How to Structure Your Dissertation on International Relations

A well-structured dissertation can help students to achieve a high overall academic grade.

• A Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Declaration
• Abstract: A summary of the research completed
• Table of Contents
• Introduction : This chapter includes the project rationale, research background, key research aims and objectives, and the research problems. An outline of the structure of a dissertation can also be added to this chapter.
• Literature Review : This chapter presents relevant theories and frameworks by analysing published and unpublished literature on the chosen research topic to address research questions . The purpose is to highlight and discuss the selected research area’s relative weaknesses and strengths whilst identifying any research gaps. Break down the topic and key terms that can positively impact your dissertation and your tutor.
• Methodology : The data collection and analysis methods and techniques employed by the researcher are presented in the Methodology chapter, which usually includes research design , research philosophy, research limitations, code of conduct, ethical consideration, data collection methods, and data analysis strategy .
• Findings and Analysis : The findings of the research are analysed in detail in the Findings and Analysis chapter. All key findings/results are outlined in this chapter without interpreting the data or drawing any conclusions. It can be useful to include graphs, charts, and tables in this chapter to identify meaningful trends and relationships.
• Discussion and Conclusion : The researcher presents his interpretation of the results in this chapter and states whether the research hypothesis has been verified or not. An essential aspect of this section of the paper is to link the results and evidence from the literature. Recommendations with regard to the implications of the findings and directions for the future may also be provided. Finally, a summary of the overall research, along with final judgments, opinions, and comments, must be included in the form of suggestions for improvement.
• References : This should be completed following your University’s requirements
• Bibliography
• Appendices : Any additional information, diagrams, and graphs used to complete the dissertation but not part of the dissertation should be included in the Appendices chapter. Essentially, the purpose is to expand the information/data.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How to find international relations dissertation topics.

For international relations dissertation topics:

• Examine global issues and conflicts.
• Analyse diplomacy, treaties, or organisations.
• Explore cultural, economic, or political influences.
• Review current events and debates.
• Consider regional dynamics.
• Opt for a topic resonating with your passion and research scope.

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Public Affairs, International Relations Masters Theses Collection

This collection contains open access and campus access Masters theses, made possible through Graduate Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The full content of open access theses is available to all, although some files may have embargoes placed on them and will be made available as soon as possible. The full content of campus access theses is only available to those either on the UMass Boston campus or with a UMass Boston campus username and password. Click on the "Off-Campus UMass Boston Users" link on the record page to download Campus Access publications. Those not on campus and those without a UMass Boston campus username and password may gain access to this thesis through resources like Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global or through Interlibrary Loan.

Theses from 2023 2023

How Does China View the Modern Asian Regional System? , Thi Mai Anh Nguyen

Theses from 2020 2020

Domestic Public Opinion on EU Integration and Investment by China in the Western Balkans , Brandon Wilcox

Theses from 2019 2019

The Neoliberal State as an Apparatus of Harm: Towards a Decolonial Materialist Feminism in Bolivia , Taylor M. Doherty

The Role of the International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGO) in Humanitarian Intervention – A Case Study of the IFRC Cash Transfer Program in Malawi , Olabode George Igandan

Human Rights and Justice Rights Approaches to Gender-Based Violence (GBV): The Case of Kenya’s Sexual Offenses Act (KSOA) , Maryanne W. Kamunya

Women's Security and Empowerment in the Context of Forced Displacement: A Case Study of Humanitarian Policies for Syrian Refugee Women in Turkey , Kinga Henryka Karlowska

Theses from 2018 2018

War, Public Outrage, and Partisanship: Congressional Responses to Presidential Military Overreach , William G. Foster-Nolan

The United States of Sol: Privatization as a Tool of American Hegemony in the Solar System , Edward C. Henry

Israeli Apartheid: Separating Fact, Fiction, and (Public) Opinion , Shaheen B. Merhej

Theses from 2017 2017

Understanding the Causes of Unaccompanied Minors Migrating to the US during 2014 , Edgar Torres

Theses from 2016 2016

Security and Foreign Policy of Landlocked States , Samiullah Mahdi

Theses from 2015 2015

'Responsibility to Protect': The Divergent Development of a Norm , Georges T. Fakhry

Theses from 2014 2014

Four Traits of Strong Science-Policy Interfaces for Global Environmental Governance , Daniel F. Zaleznik

Theses from 2013 2013

National Passenger Rail Policies and the Effect on Investment, Ridership, and Congestion , Kyle J. Emge

The Cost of Nationalism: The Foundations of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and its Perilous Path Toward Middle Eastern Hegemony , Jeremy C. Lowe

How Ending Gender Violence in India Improves the Nation's International Reputation and Tourism Industry: A Case for Nationalism , Sharon Nambudripad Schiffer

Why now? The Making of Modern Burma: Drivers of Democratization , Aung Tun

Theses from 2012 2012

U.S. Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War Era , Kyle R. Vale

Peers: How a Global Economy and Information Technology Have Equalized Power in World Politics , Rachel D. Wolters

Theses from 2011 2011

Design for Participatory Development Planning and Economic Self-Determination in Ileho, Kenya , Cynthia C. Abatt

The Implications of Water Insecurity for Fragile and Failing States: The Case of Pakistan , Jennifer Norins

Theses from 2010 2010

Relative Socioeconomic Status and the Probability of Migration: A Study of the Effects of Relative Socioeconomic Status on the Decision to Migrate to the United States , Alexandra Souza Vieira Barker

Environmental and Natural Disasters in Haiti: The Impacts of Failed Policies From 2004 to 2010 , James Douby Ralph Eliscar

Theses from 2009 2009

Democracy in Russia: An Analysis of the Process of Democratization in Post-Soviet Russia , Douglas F. Gray

Theses from 2006 2006

US-Mexico Relations and NAFTA: Lessons Learned for South America and the FTAA , Marion E. Gordon

Theses from 2005 2005

Albania: A Case Study of Socio-Economic and Political Effects of Transition to Democracy , Ira Lazic

Theses from 2003 2003

Reexamining the Impact of September 11th on Relations Between Saudi Arabia and the United States , Faisal bin Khaled Al Saud

Contemporary US/Korean Relations: A South Korean Perspective , Kelly Tobin

Theses from 1983 1983

Odisseia Portuguesa via Hudson, Massachusetts, U.S.A. , Adalino Cabral

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• Theses and Dissertations

Politics and International Relations: Theses and Dissertations

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• News and Analysis

Introduction

Theses and dissertations are documents that present an author's research findings, which are submitted to the University in support of their academic degree. They are very useful to consult when carrying out your own research because they:

• provide a springboard to scope existing literature
• provide inspiration for the finished product
• show you the evolution of an author's ideas over time
• provide relevant and up-to-date research (for recent theses and dissertations)

On this page you will find guidance on how to search for and access theses and dissertations in the Bodleian Libraries and beyond.

Theses and dissertations

• Reading theses and dissertations in the Bodleian Libraries
• Theses and dissertations in the Social Science Library

The Bodleian Libraries collection holds DPhil, MLitt and MPhil theses deposited at the University of Oxford. You can also search for theses and dissertations associated with other universities online, or request them via inter-library loan.

Help with theses and dissertations

To find out more about how to find and access theses and dissertations in the Bodleian Libraries and beyond, we recommend the following:

• Bodleian Libraries theses and dissertations Links to information on accessing the Bodleian Libraries collections of Oxford, UK, US and other international theses.
• Oxford University Research Archive [ORA] guide For searching, depositing and disseminating Oxford University research publications.
• Submitting your thesis to ORA Information on copyright, how to deposit your thesis in ORA and other important matters
• Guide to copyright The Bodleian Libraries' Quick guide to copyright and digital sources.

The Social Science Library holds hard copies of dissertations (usually MPhil and MSc) that departments have sent in according to their own selection criteria.

The library holds dissertations from the following departments: Criminology, Economics, Geography and the Environment, International Development, Politics and International Relations (note that MPhil Politics and International Relations dissertations are held in the Bodleian Library), Socio-Legal Studies and Social Policy and Intervention.

These dissertations are on the shelves opposite the Print and Copy Room, arranged by department, course and year. They are all indexed on SOLO, and they are for consultation in the library only. They cannot be borrowed.

Depositing your thesis

It is mandatory for students completing a research degree at the University of Oxford (registered to a programme of study on or after 1st October 2007) to deposit an electronic copy of their theses with the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA) in order to meet the requirements of their award. To find out more, visit the Oxford University Research Archive guide.

• Oxford University Research Archive guide

Definitions

Terms you may encounter in your research.

Thesis: In the UK, a thesis is normally a document that presents an author's research findings as part of a doctoral or research programme.

Dissertation: In the UK, a dissertation is normally a document that presents an author's research findings as part of an undergraduate or master's programme.

DPhil: An abbreviation for Doctor of Philosophy, which is an advanced research qualification. You may also see it referred to as PhD.

ORA: The Oxford University Research Archive , an institutional repository for the University of Oxford's research output including digital theses.

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• International Relations (299)

La Lova, Lanabi (2023) What do news media in Putin's Russia reveal about the regime’s survival strategy? PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Sepulveda Coelho Brito Filho, Tarsis Daylan (2023) Bordering humanness, securing whiteness: race, colonialism, and violence at the European borders. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Zachariades, Alexandros (2023) Greek and Cypriot foreign policy in the Middle East: small states and the limits of neoclassical realism. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Van Wingerden, Enrike (2023) Catastrophic comparisons: International Relations through elsewhere. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Micheni, Makena Nyawira (2023) Fractured brotherhoods: ethnic identity in multi-ethnic violent political organisations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Levkovych, Oksana (2022) Liberals and protectionism: Britain's international trade policy between the wars (1902-1939). PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Hirst, Catherine (2022) Revolution, international counterrevolution and world order. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Marozzi, Armando (2022) Essays on the European Central Bank's communication. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Angioni, Giovanni Francesco (2022) Essays on the political economy of preferences for redistribution and deservingness in the age of realignments and new cleavages. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Rodehau-Noack, Johanna (2022) 'A culture of prevention': the idea of preventability and the construction of war as a governance object. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Zaidi, Asad (2022) Pakistani worldmaking in international politics: empire, decolonization and Cold War struggles 1950-1989. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ratner, McKenzie (2022) Why over-comply with international law? Exceeding international minimum standards in social, labor, and environmental policy. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Raymon, Ricky (2021) The making of Indonesia’s Global Maritime Fulcrum (GMF) grand strategy: origins and implementation. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Aboudounya, Seebal (2021) Deliberation in international institutions: the case of the International Maritime Organization. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Morlino, Irene (2021) Assessing the effectiveness of EU humanitarian aid. The cases of Myanmar, Lebanon, Mozambique. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ivanov, Helena (2021) Inside propaganda: Serbian media in the Yugoslav Wars 1991-1995. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Howlett, Marnie (2021) Nationalism in the borderlands of a borderland: a critical, cartographical, and (de)constructional analysis of contemporary Ukraine. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Vuksanovic, Vuk (2021) Systemic pressures, party politics and foreign policy: Serbia between Russia and the West, 2008-2020. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Majnemer, Jacklyn (2021) Understanding reneging: Canada's nuclear sharing commitments to NATO and NORAD during the Cold War. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Hall, Jonny (2021) The normalisation of war: from the Korean War to the War on Terror. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Heimsoeth, Eleonore (2021) The European External Action Service’s influence in European security and defence policy: understanding the role of its relational capital. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Haddadi, Anissa (2021) (Post)colonial Egypt & its simulacra of liberation a capture of revolutionary desire. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Guasti, Alessandro (2020) The systemic effects of labour rights promotion: a spatial interdependence analysis of its impact on working conditions and international trade. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Degli Esposti, Nicola (2020) Whose Kurdistan? Class politics and Kurdish nationalism in the Middle East, 1918-2018. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Bertrand, Sarah (2020) Curating knowledge: international relations expertise and the end of the Cold War in East Germany. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Saint, Emma (2020) Empowering resistance? ‘Revisionist’ states and the underlying dynamics of international norm diffusion. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Fujikawa, Kentaro (2020) Serving peace and democracy? The rationales and impact of post-conflict self-determination referendums in Eritrea, East Timor, and South Sudan. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Elizalde, Pilar (2020) Human rights promotion, contestation, and politicisation in international human rights institutions: a study of the Universal Periodic Review 2008-2016. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Bonnet, Tyler Alexander (2020) Russia and the rise of China: an analysis of Russian foreign policy towards China under Putin. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Shams Lahijani, Alireza (2020) Iran’s idea of Europe (1501-2015): identity, concepts, and international society. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Leigh, Joseph (2020) The emergence of global power politics: imperialism, modernity, and American expansion 1870-1914. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Winrow, Marc Sinan (2020) Reconstituting sovereignty: the Young Turks’ efforts to secure external recognition and the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Turkey, 1908 - 1923. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Murray, Christopher Patrick (2020) Anti-imperial world politics: race, class, and internationalism in the making of post-colonial order. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Wenas Inkiriwang, Frega Ferdinand (2020) The interplay between grand strategy and defence diplomacy: examining Indonesia’s post-new order period. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Alsayed, Wafa (2019) Foreign policy making in the small Gulf states: state formation processes, ideas and identities in Kuwait and Bahrain. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Spanke, Till (2019) Nurturing dependence: the role of patron states in the state and institution building processes of de facto states. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Rogstad, Adrian (2019) Stigmatisation in international relations: Russia, the West and international society from the Cold War to Crimea. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

De Moraes Achcar, Helena (2019) The politics and anti-politics of south-south cooperation: the case of Brazil-Mozambique ProSavannah and antiretroviral factory. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Sverdrup-Thygeson, Bjørnar (2019) The identity factor in Chinese Europe policies: China’s European quest for ontological security. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Aula, Ilari (2019) Consuming conflicts: consumer responsibility for armed conflicts in DR Congo and Nigeria. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kalhousová, Irena (2019) Our Jews, our Israel! Origins of the foreign policy of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary towards Israel. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ho, Benjamin Tze Ern (2019) Chinese exceptionalism: an interpretive framework to understanding China’s rise and relations with the world. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Phull, Kiran K. (2019) Polling and the pursuit of Arab public opinion. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Goettlich, Kerry (2019) From frontiers to borders: the origins and consequences of linear borders in international politics. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Garnizova, Elitsa (2018) The new political economy of trade: understanding the treatment of non-tariff measures in European Union trade policy. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Freeman, Jonathan (2018) Military assistance as a tool of 20th Century American grand strategy: the American experience in Korea and Vietnam after World War II. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Pauls, Evelyn (2018) Unravelling the poster child: the international norm against child soldiering in Sierra Leone and Myanmar. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ciflikli, Gokhan (2018) Learning conflict duration: insights from predictive modelling. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Hartnett, Liane (2018) Love in a time of empire: an engagement with the political thought of Tolstoy, Tagore and Camus. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Carrozza, Ilaria (2018) Securing the way to power: China’s rise and its normative peace and security agenda in Africa. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Haspeslagh, Sophie (2018) The effect of proscription on pre-negotiation: a comparative analysis of making peace with Colombia’s FARC before and after 9/11. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Danewid, Ida (2018) Race, capital, and the politics of solidarity: radical internationalism in the 21st century. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Wang, Ziyuan (2018) The political logic of status competition: cases from China, 1962-1979. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dessí, Andrea T. (2018) Normalizing the Israel asset. The Reagan administration and the second cold war in the Middle East: leverage, blowback and the institutionalization of the US-Israel 'Special Relationship'. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Sharma, Rahul (2018) American civil religion and the puritan antecedents of American foreign policy. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Blanc, Emmanuelle (2018) The EU in quest for the recognition of its institutional identity: the case of the EU-US dialogues. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Bareis, Luka (2018) Interstate resource conflicts: international networks and the realpolitik of natural resource acquisition. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

George, Rachel (2018) From contestation to convergence? A constructivist critique of the impact of UN Human Rights Treaty ratification on interpretations of Islam in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kaushal, Sidharth (2018) Reconceptualising strategic culture as a focal point: the impact of strategic culture on a nation’s grand strategy. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Lee, Sohyun (2017) A step toward East Asian regionalism? Comparing the negotiation approaches of South Korea and Japan in their preferential trade agreements with ASEAN. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Feist, Marian Johannes (2017) Learning in international negotiations: the strategic use of lessons in post-agreement climate finance politics. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

McKeil, Aaron (2017) Searching for a world polity: the world after international anarchy question. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Hamilton, Scott (2017) Governing through the climate: climate change, the anthropocene, and global governmentality. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Suleimanova, Neal (2017) Why keep protecting the few without external incentives? Compliance with minority rights norms after attaining IO membership in Latvia and Georgia. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Hemmings, John (2017) Quasi-alliances, managing the rise of China, and domestic politics: the US-Japan-Australia trilateral 1991-2015. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Meibauer, Gustav (2017) Doing something: neoclassical realism, US foreign policy and the no-fly zone, 1991-2016. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Schäfer, David (2017) Explaining the creation of the EU Banking Union: the interplay between interests and ideas. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Himmrich, Julia (2017) Germany’s recognition of Kosovo as an independent state in 2008. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Shaoulian-Sopher, Efrat (2017) Israeli foreign policy towards Iran 1948-1979: beyond the realist account. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

De Simone, Carolina (2017) Italy and the community of Sant’Egidio in the 1990s. ‘Coopetition’ in post-Cold War Italian foreign policy? PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Nøhr, Andreas Aagaard (2017) Tyrants of truth: a genealogy of hyper-real politics. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Delatolla, Andrew (2017) The state as a standard of civilisation: assembling the modern state in Lebanon and Syria, 1800-1944. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Papagaryfallou, Ioannis (2016) The history/theory dialectic in the thought of Herbert Butterfield, Martin Wight and E. H. Carr: a reconceptualisation of the English School of international relations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Stroikos, Dimitrios (2016) China, India in space and the orbit of international society: power, status, and order on the high frontier. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Brenner, David (2016) Insurgency as a social process: authority and armed groups in Myanmar’s changing borderlands. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Yao, Yuan (2016) Constructing the ideal river: the 19th century origins of the first international organizations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Schade, Daniel (2016) The European Union’s Latin America policy: a study of foreign policy change and coordination. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Morita-Jaeger, Minako (2016) Services trade integration in East Asia and political economy impediments in domestic decision-making: a case study of Japan-ASEAN bilateral free trade agreements. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Wang-Kaeding, Heidi (2016) Strategic concepts and interest groups in China’s environmental foreign relations (1984-2015). PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Susler, Bugra (2016) Turkey's foreign policy cooperation with the European Union during the Arab Spring, 2011-13. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Lacatus, Corina (2016) The design of national human rights institutions: global patterns of institutional diffusion and strength. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Hearson, Martin (2016) Bargaining away the tax base: the north-south politics of tax treaty diffusion. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Linsi, Lukas (2016) How the beast became a beauty: the social construction of the economic meaning of foreign direct investment inflows in advanced economies, 1960-2007. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Fotou, Maria (2016) Ethics of hospitality: envisaging the stranger in the contemporary world. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Hoeffken, Jana Ulrike (2016) Competition provisions in EU regional trade agreements: consequences for domestic reform in developing countries. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Jiang, Lu (2016) Beyond ODA: Chinese way of development cooperation with Africa: the case of agriculture. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Procopio, Maddalena (2016) Negotiating governance: Kenyan contestation, cooperation, passivity toward the Chinese. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Andersen, Morten Skumsrud (2016) A genealogy of the balance of power. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

von Weitershausen, Inez (2016) Europe between interests, institutions and ideas: crisis cooperation during the 2011 uprisings in Libya. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Frielingsdorf, Per-Axel (2016) “Machiavelli of Peace”: Dag Hammarskjöld and the political role of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Mueller, Benjamin (2015) At cold war’s end: complexity, causes, and counterfactuals. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Guijarro Usobiaga, Borja (2015) European sanctions reconsidered: regime type, strategic bargaining, and the imposition of EU sanctions. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Terry, Jillian (2015) Towards a feminist ethics of war: rethinking moral justifications for contemporary warfare. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dittrich, Viviane (2015) Present at the completion: creating legacies at the International Criminal Tribunals. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Nair, Deepak (2015) Saving the states’ face: an ethnography of the ASEAN secretariat and diplomatic field in Jakarta. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Koluksuz, Melissa (2015) A critical geopolitics of American “imperialism" and grand strategy (Post-9/11): the role of language and ideology. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

de Merich, Diego (2015) Empathy at the intersections of care: articulating a critical approach to the ethics of international development. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Falkiner, Daniel (2015) The erotics of empire: love, power, and tragedy in Thucydides and Hans Morgenthau. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Bohnenberger-Rich, Simone (2015) China and Kazakhstan: economic hierarchy, dependency and political power? PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Crossley, Noële (2015) Humanitarian intervention: from le droit d'ingérence to the responsibility to protect. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ussar, Margit (2014) Ethics, aid, and organisational characteristics: are multilateral aid organisations more likely to be driven by ethical considerations than their bilateral counterparts? PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Sibal, Rajeev (2014) Varieties of capitalism and firm performance in emerging markets: an examination of the typological trajectories of India and Brazil. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Basedow, Johann (2014) The European Union’s international investment policy Explaining intensifying Member State cooperation in international investment regulation. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Zheng, Yixiao (2014) Complex interdependence and China’s engagement with Australia: navigating between power and vulnerability. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ohlers, Curtis (2014) Interstate warfare and the emergence of transnational insurgencies. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kramer, Reik (2014) Network-centric peace: an application of network theory to violent conflicts. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Anderson, Emily (2014) States of extraction: impacts of taxation on statebuilding in Angola and Mozambique, 1975-2013. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Muravska, Julia (2014) The institutionalisation of the European defence equipment market. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Makarem, Hadi (2014) Actually existing neoliberalism: the reconstruction of downtown Beirut in post-civil war Lebanon. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Flynn, Curran (2014) Hans Morgenthau’s scientific man versus power politics and politics among nations: a comparative analysis. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Pavese, Carolina B. (2014) Level-­linkage in European Union – Brazil relations: an analysis of cooperation on climate change, trade, and human rights. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Yu, Jie (2014) Partnership or partnerships? An assessment of China-EU relations between 2001 and 2013 with cases studies on their collaborations on climate change and renewable energy. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Datzberger, Simone (2014) Peacebuilding and the depoliticisation of civil society: Sierra Leone [2002 – 2013]. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Brodersen, Rupert (2014) Rage, rancour and revenge: existentialist motives in international relations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Wirajuda, Muhammad (2014) The impact of democratisation on Indonesia’s foreign policy: regional cooperation, promotion of political values, and conflict management. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Schleifer, Philip (2014) Whose rules? The institutional diffusion and variation of private participatory governance. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Klingler-Vidra, Robyn (2014) All politics is local: sources of variance in the diffusion of venture capital policies. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Côté, Christine (2014) A chilling effect? The impact of international investment agreements on national regulatory autonomy in the areas of health, safety and the environment. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Lamprecht, Jens (2014) Bargaining power in multilateral trade negotiations: Canada and Japan in the Uruguay Round and Doha development agenda. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Barber, Laura (2014) Chinese foreign policy in the 'Going Out' era: confronting challenges and 'Adaptive Learning' in the case of China-Sudan and South Sudan Relations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Izzuddin, Mustafa (2014) Ethnic politics and Malaysia’s China Policy: from Tun Abdul Razak to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi: a neoclassical realist interpretation. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

de Felice, Damiano (2014) Explaining variation in the degree of internalisation of political conditionality: the cases of France and the United Kingdom. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kersten, Mark (2014) Justice in conflict: the ICC in Libya and Northern Uganda. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Hellmeyer, Monika (2014) The impact of the Central and Eastern European EU member states on the EU’s foreign policy, 2004 to 2013. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Schwarz, Elke (2013) The biopolitical condition: re-thinking the ethics of political violence in life-politics. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dueben, Bjoern (2013) China-Russia relations after the Cold War: the process of institution-building and its impact on the evolution of bilateral cooperation. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Srnicek, Nick (2013) Representing complexity: the material construction of world politics. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Cheeppensook, Kasira (2013) The development of the ASEAN Charter: origins and norm codification. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Bowen, Andrew (2013) Syrian-American relations, 1973 - 1977: a study of security cooperation in regional conflicts. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Tardelli, Luca (2013) When elites fight: elites and the politics of U.S. military interventions in internal conflicts. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Rahbek-Clemmensen, Jon (2013) Beyond ‘the soldier and the state’ - the theoretical framework of elite civil-military relations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Voltolini, Benedetta (2013) Lobbying in EU foreign policy-making towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: exploring the potential of a constructivist perspective. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Parakilas, Jacob Christopher (2013) The Mexican drug “war”: an examination into the nature of narcotics linked violence in Mexico, 2006-2012. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Laker, Frederick (2013) Rethinking internal displacement geo-political games, fragile states, & the relief industry. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Zhang, Shuxiu (2013) The dragonomic diplomacy (De)code: a study on the causal relationship between Chinese economic diplomacy preference formation and the influence of multilateral economic regimes. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Verma, Rajneesh (2013) The tiger and the dragon: a neoclassical realist perspective of India and China in the oil industry in West Africa. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Wielopolska, Anna (2013) Causes and consequences of ambivalence in Germany’s policy towards the Eastern enlargement of the European Union. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Palma, Oscar (2013) Transnational networks of insurgency and crime: explaining the spread of the revolutionary armed forces of Colombia beyond national borders. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kuroki, Maiko (2013) Nationalism in Japan’s contemporary foreign policy: a consideration of the cases of China, North Korea, and India. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Pham, Gia Son (2013) A political economy approach to the impact of the WTO’s accession process on Vietnam’s economic reform: a case of compliance? PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Niemetz, Martin (2013) Promoting a deliberative system for global peace and security: how to reform the United Nations’ decision-making procedures. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Keränen, Outi (2013) Acts of contention: local practices and dynamics of negotiated statebuilding in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1995-2010. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dombrowski, Kathrin Irma (2013) Bridging the democratic gap: Can NGOs link local communities to international environmental institutions? PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Parks, Bradley (2013) Brokering development policy change: the parallel pursuit of millennium challenge account resources and reform. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Smith, Janel (2013) Civil society, human security, and the politics of peace-building in victor’s peace Sri Lanka (2009-2012). PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kruesman, Monika (2013) Digging for compliments: Rio Tinto Group, corporate social responsibility and the diffusion of international norms. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

de Heredia, Marta Iñiguez (2013) Everyday resistance in post-conflict statebuilding: the case of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Evangelopoulos, Georgios (2013) Scientific realism in the philosophy of science and international relations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Pepino, Silvia (2013) Sovereign risk and financial crisis: the international political economy of the Euro area sovereign debt crisis. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Cho, Young (2013) Why do countries implement Basel II? An analysis of the global diffusion of Basel II implementation. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Edwards, Alex (2013) A neoclassical realist analysis of American ‘dual containment’ policy in the Persian Gulf: 1991-2001. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Jillions, Andrew (2012) From faith in rules to the rule of law: constitutional responsibilities in international society. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Orsi, Roberto (2012) Rethinking the concept of order in international politics: Carl Schmitt and Jürgen Habermas. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Markakis, Dionysius (2012) US democracy promotion in the Middle East: the pursuit of hegemony? PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Chung, Chih-tung (2012) The evolution of Taiwan’s grand strategy: from Chiang Kai-shek to Chen Shui-bian. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Fisher, Kathryn (2012) From 20th Century troubles to 21st Century international terrorism: identity, securitization, and British counterterrorism from 1968 to 2011. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Friedman, Rebekka (2012) Hybrid TRCs and national reconciliation in Sierra Leone and Peru. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Varin, Caroline (2012) Mercenaries and the state: how the hybridisation of the armed forces is changing the face of national security. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Bloomfield, Michael (2012) Power, profit, and principles: industry opportunity structures and the political mobilisation of jewellers. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kirby, Paul (2012) Rethinking War/Rape: feminism, critical explanation and the study of wartime sexual violence, with special reference to the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Petersen, Alexandros (2012) Integration in energy and transport amongst Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Méndez, Álvaro (2012) Negotiating intervention by invitation: how the Colombians shaped US participation in the genesis of Plan Colombia. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

O’Casey, Elizabeth (2012) A theory of need in international political theory: autonomy, freedom, and a global obligation. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ghulam, Faisal (2012) Accession to the World Trade Organization: factors shaping the case of Saudi Arabia’s accession (1985-2005). PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Förster, Annette (2012) Decent peace, stability and justice: John Rawls’s international theory applied. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Campanaro, Richard (2012) Socio-ecological coevolution: an ecological analysis of the historical development of international systems in the circumpolar Arctic. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Minsat, Arthur (2012) Making EU foreign policy towards a 'Pariah' state: consensus on sanctions in EU foreign policy towards Myanmar. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kaya, Zeynep (2012) Maps into nations: Kurdistan, Kurdish Nationalism and international society. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Strong, James (2012) More spinn’d against than spinning?: public opinion, political communication, and Britain’s involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Woolfson, Alexander F. (2012) The discourse of exceptionalism and U.S. grand strategy, 1946–2009. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dalgaard, Klaus (2012) The energy statecraft of Brazil: promoting biofuels as an instrument of Brazilian foreign policy, 2003-2010. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Bennett, Hanna (2012) Leverage and limitations of the EU’s influence in the eastern neighbourhood : a study of compliance with the EU’s justice and home affairs' standards in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Roccu, Roberto (2012) Gramsci in Cairo: neoliberal authoritarianism, passive revolution and failed hegemony in Egypt under Mubarak, 1991-2010. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Castro e Almeida, Manuel (2012) Defective polities: a history of an idea of international society. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Raimundo, Antonio Joaquim (2012) The Europeanisation of national foreign policy: Portuguese foreign policy towards Angola and Mozambique, 1978-2010. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Bird, Annie (2012) US foreign policy on transitional justice: case studies on Cambodia, Liberia and Colombia. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Al Toraifi, Adel (2012) Understanding the role of state identity in foreign policy decision-making: the rise of Saudi-Iranian rapprochement (1997-2009). PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Pagliari, Natali (2012) Why are we running? Political economy of bank runs and an analysis on the 2007-09 banking crisis in the United Kingdom. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Bettiza, Gregorio (2012) The global resurgence of religion and the desecularization of American foreign policy, 1990-2012. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Sabaratnam, Meera (2011) Re-thinking the liberal peace: anti-colonial thought and post-war intervention in Mozambique. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Gani, Jasmine K. (2011) Understanding and explaining US-Syrian relations: conflict and cooperation, and the role of ideology. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Pallaver, Matteo (2011) Power and its forms: hard, soft, smart. MPhil thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Masraff, Naz (2011) Why keep complying?: compliance with EU conditionality under diminished credibility in Turkey. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dionigi, Filippo (2011) The impact of international norms on Islamist politics: the case of Hezbollah. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Homkes, Rebecca (2011) Analysing the role of public-private partnerships in global governance: institutional dynamics, variation and effects. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Moore, Candice Eleanor (2011) Governing Parties and Southern Internationalism: a neoclassical realist approach to the foreign policies of South Africa and Brazil, 1999-2010. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Topgyal, Tsering (2011) The insecurity dilemma and the Sino-Tibetan conflict. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Alves, Ana Cristina (2011) China’s oil diplomacy: comparing Chinese economic statecraft in Angola and Brazil. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Poulsen, Lauge N. Skovgaard (2011) Sacrificing sovereignty by chance: investment treaties, developing countries, and bounded rationality. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Hoover, Joseph (2011) Reconstructing human rights: a pragmatic and pluralist inquiry in global ethics. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

McFate, Sean (2011) Durable disorder: the return of private armies and the emergence of neomedievalism. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Gayoso Descalzi, Carmen Amelia (2011) Russian hegemony in the CIS region: an examination of Russian influence and of variation in consent and dissent by CIS states to regional hierarchy. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Renouf, Jean S. (2011) Understanding how the identity of international aid agencies and their approaches to security are mutually shaped. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Beaugrand, Claire Beatrix Marie (2010) Statelessness and transnationalism in northern Arabia: biduns and state building in Kuwait, 1959-2009. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Gartzke, Ulf (2010) The Boeing / McDonnell Douglas and EADS mergers: ethnocentric vs. regiocentric consolidation in the aerospace and defence industry and the implications for international relations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Oskanian, Kevork (2010) Weaving webs of insecurity: fear, weakness and power in the post-Soviet South Caucasus. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Radice, Henry (2010) The politics of humanity: humanitarianism and international political theory. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Reeves, Jeffrey (2010) Mongolian state weakness, foreign policy, and dependency on the People’s Republic of China. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Barnes, Karen (2010) Engendering peace or a gendered peace? The UN and liberal peacebuilding in Sierra Leone, 2002-2007. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Phillips, Christopher (2010) Everyday Arabism: The daily reproduction of nationalism and supranationalism in contemporary Syria and Jordan. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Wann, Joy (2010) Global financial governance and the question of influence: Examining the role private actors play in international financial standardisation. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Matsumoto, Emma (2010) Japan and the UN peace operations in the post-Cold War era: Their challenges and choices. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Pinfari, Marco (2010) Time to agree: time pressure and 'deadline diplomacy' in peace negotiations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Charnoz, Olivier (2010) The local power effects of a global governance discourse: 'Community participation' in the protection of biodiversity. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kitchen, Nicholas (2009) American power: for what? ideas, unipolarity and America’s search for purpose between the 'wars', 1991-2001. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Mills, James Robert (2009) The challenge of self-determination and emerging nationalism: the evolution of the international community’s normative responses to state fragmentation. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Bulloch, Douglas (2009) Carl Schmitt: A conceptual exegesis and critique of IR theory. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Zhang, Feng (2009) Chinese primacy in East Asian history: Deconstructing the tribute system in China's early Ming Dynasty. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ankersen, Christopher (2009) Civil-military cooperation in the Canadian Army. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Henriksen, Rune (2009) Does the West still need warriors? PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Curtis, Simon J (2009) Global cities and the transformation of the international system. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Gocer, Derya (2009) Interaction between the international and the domestic: The case of the 1908 Constitutional Revolution in the Ottoman Empire. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Lennox, Corinne (2009) Mobilising for group-specific norms: Reshaping the international protection regime for minorities. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Bolten, Annika (2009) Pegs, politics and petrification: exchange rate policy in Argentina and Brazil since the 1980s. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Van Criekinge, Tine (2009) Power asymmetry between the European Union and Africa? A case study of the EU's relations with Ghana and Senegal. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Cullen, Patrick Jerome (2009) Private security in international politics: Deconstructing the state's monopoly of security governance. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Pearson, John (2009) Republicanism beyond borders? Preventing domination in the absence of the state. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Barrios, Cristina (2009) Rival universalisms? American and European democracy promotion in post-Cold War international relations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Hughes, Annika Katherine (2009) World power -- to be taken (f)or granted?: The concept of political power and its significance for an analysis of power in international relations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Markarian, Tatoul (2009) The dynamics of the domestic-foreign policy relationship in transition studies. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Mahmoud, Yasser Mohamed Elwy Mohamed (2009) A political economy of Egyptian foreign policy: State, ideology, and modernisation since 1970. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kofmehl, Scott Eric (2009) The second act of victory: U.S. foreign policy and post-conflict state-building. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Vardi, Gil-li (2008) The enigma of German operational theory: the evolution of military thought in Germany, 1919-1938. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Stein, Ewan (2008) Conceptions of Israel and the formation of the Egyptian foreign policy: 1952-1981. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Singh, Rashmi (2008) Conceptualising suicide bombings and rethinking international relations theory: The case of Hamas 1987-2006. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Quinn, Adam (2008) Conquest of spirits: Ideological history as an explanatory factor in the Bush administration's resistance to balance-of-power thinking. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Wright, Christopher (2008) Environmental governance in international banking: exploring the emergence of the Equator Principles. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Stuart, Jill (2008) Exploring the relationship between outer space and world politics: English School and regime theory perspectives. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Berenskotter, Felix Sebastian (2008) From friends to strangers: A theory of interstate security cooperation applied to German-American relations, 1945-1995. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Balfour, Rosa (2008) Human rights and democracy in EU foreign policy: The cases of Ukraine and Egypt. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Mullin-Lery, Corinna (2008) Political Islam and the United States' new "Other": An analysis of the discourse on political Islam (2001-2007). PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kantz, Carola (2008) Precious stones, black gold and the extractive industries: Accounting for the institutional design of multi-stakeholder initiatives. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Fournier, Philippe (2008) Rationalities of government in contemporary America: A Foucaultian study of domestic and foreign policy (1960-2008). PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ortmann, Stefanie (2008) Re-imagining Westphalia: Identity in IR and the discursive construction of the Russian state. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Arnold, Matthew Byron (2008) The collaboration problematique: Managing frontiers of insecurity through state building interventionism. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Manea, Simona Florina (2008) A critique of the anthropomorphic conception of the state: The Romanian state as a relational, network and emergent actor. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Chitranukroh, Krirkbhumi (2008) The dynamics of preferential trade agreements and domestic institutions---an alternative route towards Asian regionalism: A case study of Singapore and Thailand's preferential trade agreements. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kamlani, Deirdre Shay (2008) The four faces of power in sovereign debt restructuring: Explaining bargaining outcomes between debtor states and private creditors since 1870. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Daehnhardt, Patricia (2008) The remaking of identity: The question of normative power in German foreign policy (1997-2007). PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Cui, Shunji (2007) Beyond rivalry?: Sino-Japanese relations and the potential for a ‘security regime’ in Northeast Asia. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Gross, Eva (2007) The Europeanization of foreign policy? The role of the EU CFSP/ESDP in crisis decision-making in Macedonia and Afghanistan. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kelley, John Robert (2007) From monologue to dialogue?: U.S. public diplomacy in the post-9/11 era. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Tosti, Padideh (2007) Global illicit sectors: An analysis of drugs in international relations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Teo, Victor E. (2007) Memories and the exigencies of national interest: an analysis of post Cold War Sino-Japanese and Sino-Russian strategic relations and perceptions. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Vinci, Anthony John (2007) Warlords in the international order: a neorealist approach. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Hinds, Kristina (2007) The activism and inclusion of civil society organisations in CARICOM on trade negotiating matters: a look at three cases. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ainley, Kirsten (2006) Rethinking agency & responsibility in contemporary international political theory. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Partrick, Neil (2006) Kuwait's foreign policy (1961-1977): Non-alignment, ideology and the pursuit of security. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Vlcek, William B. (2006) Small states and the challenge of sovereignty: Commonwealth Caribbean offshore financial centers and tax competition. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Muxagata de Carvalho Vieira, Marco Antonio (2006) Southern Africa's response(s) to international HIV/AIDS norms: The politics of assimilation. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kissack, Robert Eoghan (2006) Who speaks for Europe in the ILO? Member state coordination and European Union representation in the International Labour Organisation. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Yuzawa, Takeshi (2005) Japan's security policy and the ASEAN Regional Forum: The search for multilateral security in the Asia Pacific. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Moghalu, Kingsley Chiedu (2005) Justice as policy and strategy: A study of the tension between political and juridical responses to violations of international humanitarian law. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Tamura, Kentaro (2005) Preference formation, negotiations and implementation: Japan and the Basle Capital Accord. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Vaquer i Fanes, Jordi (2005) Spanish policy towards Morocco (1986-2002): The impact of EC/EU membership. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Sunayama, Sonoko (2005) Syria and Saudi Arabia, 1978-1990: A study of the role of shared identities in alliance-making. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Fokas, Efterpe (2004) The role of religion in national-EU relations: the cases of Greece and Turkey. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Johnson, Rebecca (2004) The 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: a study in post Cold War multilateral arms control negotiations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Catellani, Nicola (2004) The European Union's northern dimension: A case of foreign policy "by the backdoor"? PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Yordan, Carlos L (2004) Strategic versus communicative approaches to peacemaking: A critical assessment of the Dayton Peace Initiative. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Jayman, Jayantha (2004) A critical understanding of Japan's improved late 20th century relations in Eastern Asia. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Neves, Miguel (2003) Autonomous non-central governments in the international system: the case of Hong Kong. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Donley, Patrick Harrison (2003) Population protection in the 1990s: Managing risk in the new security environment. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Doebler-Hagedorn, Franziska (2003) The state at its borders: Germany and the Schengen negotiations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Qureshi, Saqib (2002) US Foreign Policy to Pakistan, 1947-1960: Re-constructing strategy. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Isaac, Grant E (2001) Agricultural biotechnology and transatlantic trade: An international political economy analysis of social regulatory barriers. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Correia Marques de Almeida, Joao (2001) Between anarchy and empire: An analysis and reformulation of the concept of international society in the light of the republican political tradition. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Elbe, Stefan Heinz Edward (2001) European nihilism and the meaning of the European idea: A study of Nietzsche's 'good Europeanism' in response to the debate in the post-Cold War era. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Michaels, Kevin Patrick (2001) Opening skies: The political economy of the air cargo industry in the Philippines and Taiwan. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Drossopoulos, Constantinos-John (2001) The politics of monetary integration in the European Community: Theory, practice and prospects. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Hesse, Brian Joseph (2000) Grand aims and modest means: The parallel evolution of US and South African foreign policies towards Africa in the 1990s. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Idowu, Stephen Babatunde (2000) Namibia from colonisation to statehood: The paradoxical relationship between law and power in international society. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Stubb, Alexander (1999) Flexible integration and the Amsterdam Treaty: negotiating differentiation in the 1996-97 IGC. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Viola, Donatella (1999) European foreign policy and the European Parliament in the 1990's. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Crow, Suzanne Marie (1999) Fragmented diplomacy: The impact of Russian governing institutions on foreign policy, 1991-1996. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Styan, David A. (1999) Franco-Iraqi relations and Fifth Republic foreign policy, 1958-1990. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Valde-Ugalde, Jose Luis (1999) Intervening in revolution: The US exercise of power in Guatemala, 1954. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Jacquin-Berdal, Dominique (1999) Nationalism and secession in the Horn of Africa: a critique of the ethnic interpretation. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Osman, Mohamed Awad (1999) The United Nations and peace enforcement with special reference to Kuwait, 1990-91. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Colas Krauter, Alejandro (1999) The expansion of international civil society: The case of Tunisia. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ebata, Joanne Michi (1999) The transition from war to peace: politics, political space and the peace process industry in Mozambique, 1992-1995. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Keene, Edward (1998) The colonising ethic and modern international society: A reconstruction of the Grotian tradition of international theory. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Brown, Susan (1998) The institutional evolution of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement: towards an understanding of the peripheries of domestic economic policies. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Bettcher, Douglas (1997) A psychoanalytic approach to the study of international relations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Smith, Karen Elizabeth (1996) The making of foreign policy in the European Community/Union: the case of Eastern Europe, 1988-1995. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

van Walsum-Stachowicz, Judith Margaretha (1995) Corporate diplomacy and European Community information technology policies: The influence of multi-nationals and interest groups, 1980-1993. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Pinheiro, Leticia de Abreu (1995) Foreign policy decision-making under the Geisel government: The president, the military and the foreign ministry. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Khonsari, Mehrdad (1995) The National Movement of the Iranian Resistance 1979-1991: The role of a banned opposition movement in international politics. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Vervain Evans, Carol (1994) Defence industrialisation in the NICs : case studies from Brazil and India. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Taillon, Joseph Paul de Boucherville (1993) International co-operation in the use of elite military forces to counter terrorism: The British and American experience, with special reference to their respective experiences in the evolution of low-intensity operations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Chife, Aloy Chinedu (1993) The political economy of north-south relations: Japan's relations with Nigeria, 1960-1985. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Rowlands, Ian (1992) International regime formation: the politics of ozone layer depletion and global warming. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Almadhagi, Ahmed Noman Kassim (1992) YAR-US relations 1962-1990: a case study of a superpower-small state relationship. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Joao da Costa Cabral Andresen Guimaraes, Fernando (1992) The origins of the Angolan civil war. International politics and domestic political conflict 1961-1976. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ming, Dong (1991) The principles and flexibility in China's external relations: The case of Hong Kong. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Bello, Ghaji Ismaila (1990) The international politics of famine relief operations in Ethiopia: A case study of the 1984-86 famine relief operations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Williams, Marc Andrew (1987) The group of 77 in UNCTAD: anatomy of a Third World coalition. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Suganami, Hidemi (1986) Domestic analogy in proposals for world order, 1814-1945: the transfer of legal and political principles from the domestic to the international sphere in thought on international law and relations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Linklater, Andrew (1978) Obligations beyond the state: the individual, the state and humanity in international theory. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Designing a Research Proposal

Before conducting research, whether this is for an undergraduate project/essay,or a dissertation or thesis, it is important that you design a research proposal first. This will serve as a plan to orient you as you conduct your research and seek to answer the question(s) you have set. Every university (and programme within) will have its own guidelines for this, but the resources below give some accessible overviews on how a research proposal works in general, and then lists some examples the E-International Relations team has found useful from universities around the world.

The resources below have been curated by the E-International Relations team. You can find more resources on our methods homepage .

How to Develop a Good Research Topic by KStateLibraries (YouTube)

How To Write A Strong Research Proposal by Dr Amina Yonis (Youtube)

‘The Perfect Proposal’ by Dr. Hastings of the Texas A&M University Writing Center (YouTube)

Developing Research Questions by Monash University (website).

Doing a Literature Review

An essential part of any proposal is a review of the relevant literature already published on the topic you are researching. This shows that you understand where the existing debates are focused and (for more advanced works) can identify any gaps in the extant research that your work may address. Generally, literature falls into two broad categories: (1) Academic literature – this is books, journal articles and academic PhD theses… anything peer reviewed. (2) ‘Grey’ Literature – essentially anything not peer reviewed but useful to your research. this is a broad category that incorporates Newspaper/Magazine articles, policy or technical reports, government publications/archives, multimedia content (Podcasts, videos etc.) etc. Both academic and grey literature can be online or physical/in print and the distinction is less important than the nature and use of the materials in your literature review.

Get Lit: The Literature Review by Dr. Candace Hastings (YouTube)

Literature Review by University of Waterloo (website).

Andrew Booth, Diana Papaioannou, and Anthea Sutton, Systematic Approaches to Successful Literature Review (SAGE, 2012), pp.1–16. https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/43465_Booth_et_al.pdf

Chris Hart, Doing a Literature Review (SAGE, 1998), pp.1–25. https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/28728_LitReview___hart_chapter_1.pdf

Robin Kiteley and Chris Stogdon, Literature Reviews in Social Work (SAGE, 2014), pp.5–22. The Selection of a Research Approach. https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/58106_Kiteley_&_Stogdon.pdf

John W. Creswell, Research Design Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches Fourth Edition (Sage, 2014). https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/55588_Chapter_1_Sample_Creswell_Research_Design_4e.pdf

Examples of different university guides for research proposals

University of Nottingham https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pgstudy/how-to-apply/research-proposal.aspx

Oxford University https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/writing-your-research-proposal

King’s College London, Department of European and International Studies https://www.kcl.ac.uk/eis/postgraduate/eis-phd-research-proposal-guidelines

Guidelines for elaborating a master’s thesis or project. ISCTE Business School (Lisbon, Portugal). https://www.iscte-iul.pt/assets/files/2020/11/02/1604315461085_Guidelines_for_elaborating_a_Master_s_dissertation_or_project.pdf

Dissertation Proposal Template. Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics. https://www.clsbe.lisboa.ucp.pt/system/files/assets/files/dissertation-proposal-template.pdf

Writing a research proposal. University of Melbourne https://students.unimelb.edu.au/academic-skills/explore-our-resources/graduate-research/writing-a-research-proposal

Types of Research Design. – University of Southern California. https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/researchdesigns

Guidelines for the Preparation of Research Project, Dissertation and Thesis – University of Malaya. https://inpuma.um.edu.my/Guidelines_for_Preparation_of_Research_Project_Dissertation_and_Thesis.pdf

Research Proposal Guidelines. – University of Pretoria. https://www.up.ac.za/communication-management-division/article/2417100/research-proposal-guidelines

Writing a Research Proposal. – Victoria University of Wellington. https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/1341273/Writing-a-Research-Proposal.pdf

How to Prepare: Thesis Proposal. – University of Hong Kong. https://gradsch.hku.hk/f/page/476/1666/thesis-proposal.pdf

George Washington University, Dissertation Content and Style Guide. https://gsehd.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/gsehd_dissertation_content_and_style_guide.pdf.

Organizing your Social Sciences Research Paper. https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide

Tips for Writing a Good Quality Social Science Research Paper. https://globaljournals.org/journals/human-social-science/tips-for-writing-a-good-quality-social-science-research-paper

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper. https://libguides.pointloma.edu/c.php?g=944338&p=6806892

The Open University. (2021). “Postgraduate Study Skills”. The Open University. https://help.open.ac.uk/conducting-an-interview .

Types of Research Designs. University of Southern California Libraries. https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/researchdesigns

Writing your research proposal (York St. John University). https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/study/research/apply/examples-of-research-proposals/

Further Reading on E-International Relations

• Designing and Conducting Surveys
• Research Ethics
• Introduction to Research Methods
• Quantitative Analysis Tools
• Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches
• 9/11 and the War on Terror

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Master Thesis: DIPLOMACY AND POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS – EU AND RUSSIA IN THE LIGHT OF UKRAINE CRISIS

Since the ceasefire of the Minsk agreement (Minsk II), media, politics and scholars debate EU-diplomacy concerning the concessions Minks II made towards Russia. Reflecting EU-Russia-relations, the Ukraine-crisis was not a surprise (see Mearsheimer 2014, Dias 2013). In a long-term perspective, a contradiction appears between Russia’s confirmations of EU-norms and values as mutually shared principles on one hand, and a “fundamental ideological difference” on the other hand (Faw 2010:40, see Monaghan 2013:5pp). Regarding academic research, the problem is not new but still relevant (see Timmermann 2005, The Council of the European Union 2010, Poyraz 2011, Maliukevičius 2013). The Ukraine-crisis challenges relations between EU and Russia. What path will EU and Russia tread? Picking up on the hint at ideological differences, the thesis questions: Why does the Ukraine-crisis challenge EU-Russian-relations? Where do the challenges originate? What are their underlying reasons? The recent crisis in Ukraine can be seen as a challenge of EU-standards in EU-Russian-relations, regarding their implications for EU-diplomacy concerning power and balance of interests in a globalized world. The Ukraine-crisis underlines the role of the Ukraine as a buffer zone at the peak of mutual misunderstanding between EU and Russia. In the theoretical framework of power/knowledge and discourse after Michel Foucault (1972, 1980), the Master Thesis analyses key concepts of official discourse in EU-Russian relations. With Foucault’s notion of power and picking up on the hint at ideological differences, core concepts of EU-standards, such as democracy, multipolarity, rule of law and modernization, can be “unpacked” in the logic of ‘truth of power’, comparatively or contrasting to the Russian ‘truth of power’. The research design of qualitative discourse analysis focuses on official resources of EU- and Russian policies in the timeframe of Vladimir Putin’s first presidency in 2000 up to today, concentrating on values and norms as given EU-standard. The Ukraine will be considered in the context of analysis, while the role of the U.S. is given marginal attention, in order to keep the frame of a master thesis. Michel Foucault himself gave methodological precautions, but not a methodology to put discourse analysis into practice (see ibid. 1980, see Jørgensen/Phillips 2002). Consequently, the methodology of this discourse analysis refers to Laclau and Mouffee’s conception of nodal points and floating signifiers in the framework of their discourse theory, which follows core aspects of Foucault’s approach (see Laclau and Mouffee 1985).1 In order to examine the core assumption, EU-standards, challenged in EU-Russian-relations in the course of the Ukraine-crisis, will be analysed. EU-standard concepts chosen for analysis are: democracy, multipolarity, rule of law and modernization. These will be analysed with Laclau and Mouffee’s conception of nodal points and floating signifiers. Data will be collected (official resources), the comprehension of the respective EU- standard concept by each side, Russia and EU, will be examined and verified by examples. The outcome will be discussed against the theoretical background of a “truth of power”, regarding implications for EU-diplomacy towards Russia and Ukraine’s role as a buffer zone concerning power and balance in a globalized world. Future perspectives of academic research will be envisaged.

Related Papers

International Politics

Viljar Veebel

Over the last 20 years the European Union (EU) has been associated with the export of certain universal norms, rules and practices to other countries. In academic circles, the concept is called “normative power Europe”. Democracy, rule of law, strong commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms, and social justice: these principles form the core identity of the EU. Based on shared political, economic and cultural ties among member states, the EU has sought to promote these norms also in the neighbouring countries, including Russia. However, the outbreak of the violent conflict between Russia and Ukraine at the end of 2013 clearly demonstrates that the EU has failed in its pursuit in Russia despite extensive mutual relations and comprehensive financial support provided by the EU. The aim of the article is to analyse how consistent has the EU been in defending and promoting European values and norms in the international arena and to Russia during the Ukrainian conflict.

Pernille Rieker

Recent developments in European security have shown the growing need for a better understanding of the security dynamics on the European continent. This article presents an analysis of differing Russian and European perceptions of European security in general, and concerning the crisis in Ukraine in particular. As much of the literature on these issues has been normatively driven, we aim to provide an impartial presentation and analysis of the dominant Russian and EU discourses. This we see as essential for investigating the potential for constructive dialogue between Russia and the EU. If simplistic assumptions about the motivations and intentions of other actors take hold in the public debate and policy analyses, the main actors may be drawn into a logic that is ultimately dangerous or counterproductive. With this article we offer a modest contribution towards discouraging such a development in Russia–EU relations. After presenting an analysis of the differing EU and Russian perceptions, we discuss the potential for dialogue between such different worldviews, and reflect on potential implications for European security. As the article shows, there are tendencies of a certain adjustment in the Union’s approach that may make a partial rapprochement between the two sides more likely.

marta martin

Elena A Korosteleva

Givi Gigitashvili

The illegal annexation of Crimea has halt to more than 20 years of the EU’s engagement with the Russian Federation. Unexpectedly, Russia derailed from its own commitments to uphold Ukraine's territorial integrity that created a deep gap and exposed essential differences on values and on the implication of international law. On these grounds, it is worth to analyze whether existed vocabulary of their communication is still relevant. Considering the current developments, the underlying paper examines the validity of key aspect between two actors communication after Crimean crisis.

Lukas Wagner

Review of European and Russian Affairs

Anastasia Chebakova

Journal of European Integration

Marco Siddi

Between 2014 and 2021, the EU's relationship with Russia oscillated between the ever more elusive quest for a mutually acceptable geopolitical balance and increasing conflict. The conflict focused primarily on the future of Ukraine. Three new books analyse essential parts of this conundrum: the changing nature of the EU's power in the context of the Ukraine conflict, the long-standing EU-Russia business and energy relationship, and the self-image and external perceptions of EU foreign policy towards Ukraine. While written before the 2022 war, the books remain highly relevant because they dissect an ongoing process of changing EU actorness in its Eastern neighbourhood. In order to analyse the path to the 2022 war and its aftermath, future research must expand on this scholarship by enlarging the spectrum of theoretical approaches while navigating the new constraints that the war and the ensuing tense policy debates have put on empirical work.

Strategic Communication in EU-Russia Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

Pierre-Emmanuel Thomann

The competing narratives between the EU and Russia have revealed parallel interpretations of the different ongoing crises. This "narrative war" has so far led to a worsening of relations at governmental level. It might be time to highlight the potential benefit of greater focus on common interests in order to improve communication among experts and politicians from the EU countries and Russia, and identify common geopolitical interests in order to engage in a strategic dialogue. This approach could help to circumvent the psychological warfare based on rival ideological narratives. The chapter analyzes the disadvantages of strategic communication of the EU, the existing challenges in the relations between the EU and Russia and the urgency of finding solutions for peace and prosperity among the peoples of Europe.

Estelle Petit

The study of the four Foreign Policy Concepts of the Russian Federation and their changes in terms of tone and substance enable us to understand the country’s evolving understanding of international affairs and its perception of its own role in this environment. It also helps with the observation of the internal political dynamic in Russia, announcing a shift towards Eurasianism as well as allowing us to put Russian attitudes to Western behaviour through years. The analysis of EU-Russia relations within this wider perspective highlights the mutual misunderstanding and lack of empathy between both entities that prevented them from avoiding some significant faux pas that led them to the current situation. From vacillations and hesitancy to a dialogue of the deaf clouded by distrust, we will be aim to specifically analyse Moscow’s reaction to EU involvement in Russia’s “sphere of influence”.

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• Disability and Inclusive Education in Mexico: Perspectives and Impact of Civil Society  Grigoreva, Anastasiia ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-10 ) This thesis examines the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in promoting inclusive education (IE) in Mexico. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from July to September 2022, involving 33 representatives from ...
• Agroecological Transformations in Oregon's Willamette Valley: A Historical and Ethnographic Case Study  Olson, Tara ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-10 ) This thesis is an evaluation of the constraints and opportunities for agroecological transformation in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, in attempt to find what can be learned from the particularities of this context. Using a ...
• Beeing in the Willamette Valley: A Look at Human and Honey Bee Relationships and the Global Currents That Shape Them  Paone, Taylor ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) This thesis explores interspecies relationships between humans and honey bees. Through multispecies ethnographic vignettes, beekeeper-honey bee relationships reveal the ways in which social systems inform interspecies ...
• Understanding and Addressing Structural Barriers to Healthcare Access for Mam Indigenous Women in Oregon  Garcia, Veronica ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) This thesis explores structural barriers to healthcare access for Mam Indigenous women in Oregon. It provides an overview of structural barriers within the healthcare system and local community and how service providers ...
• Mapping Disaster: Indicators for a Resilient Food System in North Minneapolis  Schlegelmilch, Joanna ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) This research examines the complexities within the interdependent global issues of racism and food insecurity and argues for the need to build empirical systems of analysis around the reliability of food systems to advance ...
• Expressing Values and Fulfilling Obligations to Family Through Education: An Exploration of Higher Secondary School Student Experiences & Expectations in Sindhupalchowk, Nepal  Wright, Grace ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-26 ) Students in Nepal face numerous barriers in accessing and affording higher secondary schooling, yet many of their families prioritize education and send them on rural-to-urban pathways. While being uprooted from their home ...
• Caregiving in pandemic times: Perspectives from women heads of transnational households in rural Mexico  Pedraza, Alejandra ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-04 ) This thesis explores how women heads of transnational households in one rural Mexican village in Querétaro, Mexico experienced the COVID-19 pandemic vis-à-vis their gendered family roles. From June 2021 to February 2022, ...
• Law as Violence in the Post-Colonial State: the Case of Lawfare in Kashmir  Massara, Lindsay ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-04 ) This study uses law as a divining rod to draw out historical connections and intersections that implicate power, violence, and oppression in Indian-administered Kashmir. Broadly, this study asks why violence and oppression ...
• Building Bridges and Breaking Down Barriers: First Food Knowledge Transmission of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation  Caudill, Lydia ( University of Oregon , 2022-02-18 ) Through semi-structured interviews with CTUIR community members, I assessed the current spectrum of relationships that exists between CTUIR community members and their First Foods. Furthermore, I identify two categories ...
• Breaking Down the Walls: Fostering Opportunity and Dignity Amongst Refugee Women and Girls Through Sport  Gerken, Kimberly ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) Sports for Development and Peace (SDP) refers to the intentional use of sports in the pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This thesis primarily centers on three SDP Goals: #3, Good Health and Well-Being; ...
• Cross-Cultural Accessibility and Inclusion in Youth Outdoor Experiential Education  Gupta, Neti ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) This study explores Kenyan parent’s values and beliefs about nature, and how they perceive the role of nature in their child’s development. Further, this study investigates the barriers to accessing outdoor experiential ...
• Culture in the Food Security Literature of West Africa: A Critical Review  Ziesenhene , Ellen ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) This critical review analyzes the visibility of three aspects of culture in West African food security literature: livelihood and practice, social, and systems of meaning. It presents insights into these cultural applications ...
• Assessing the Status of Forces Agreement in Okinawa, Japan  Fouts, Matthew ( University of Oregon , 2021-09-13 ) The Japanese prefecture of Okinawa is a contradiction. A peaceful, idyllic tourist destination for beachgoers today, in 1945 Okinawans suffered through a four-month battle where hundreds of thousands of civilians died by ...
• "Just a Dash of Salt": Salt and Identity Formation in Historical and Contemporary Jamaica  Sperry, Alyssa ( University of Oregon , 2021-04-27 ) Salt is a ubiquitous substance that has played a significant role in the development of human culture. It is a recognizable universal human need that over time has adapted symbolic and practical significance across cultures ...
• Towards a Transformative Agroecology: Seeding Solutions for Food Sovereignty and Climate Change Among Smallholder and Tribal Farmers in Rajasthan, India  Nikfarjam, Michelle ( University of Oregon , 2021-04-27 ) This thesis explores how the state-wide non-governmental organization (NGO), CECOEDECON, is using agroecology as a vehicle for promoting greater farmer sovereignty and preparing for negative impacts of climate change in ...
• Show Me the Money: Understanding FATCA - United States & CARICOM Relations  Hall, Jeffery ( University of Oregon , 2021-04-27 ) This study explores the provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Services’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and its demands to increase disclosure and transparency pertaining to the financial data of ...
• Rural Sanitation Preferences and Household Decisions: A Mixed-Methods Case Study in Wolaita, Ethiopia  Hansberger, Dayna ( University of Oregon , 2020-12-08 ) Rural Ethiopian families bear the responsibility to invest in their own sanitation, resulting in large disparities in latrine quality. This study analyzes considerations for household latrine purchases, desirable latrine ...
• Life in Limbo: Refugees and Community Response in Athens, Greece  Dgebuadze, Nino ( University of Oregon , 2020-12-08 ) This thesis explores perspectives of refugee and asylum-seeking women and grassroots organizations on challenges that refugee populations face in Greece and how the local community responds to the emerging needs of the ...
• Post-Rape Care and Justice in South Africa: Improving Support Services for Survivors of Sexual Violence.  Lechlech, Lina ( University of Oregon , 2020-09-24 ) The purpose of this study is to explore and describe the current experience of sexual violence survivors in Sexual Offences Courts and Thuthuzela Care Centres in South Africa. While these two models were developed as a way ...
• Transitional Justice (TJ) Mechanisms in Nepal: Victims’ Needs and State Responses  Singh, Sugam ( University of Oregon , 2020-02-27 ) This thesis examines the history and intricacies of Transitional Justice (TJ) and how it has been utilized in the case of Nepal. Since the TJ process does not exist in a historical and socio-political vacuum, I also cursorily ...

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Dissertations

The dv410 dissertation is a major component of the msc programme and an important part of the learning and development process involved in postgraduate education., research design and dissertation in international development.

The DV410 dissertation is a major component of the MSc programme and an important part of the learning and development process involved in postgraduate education. The objective of DV410  is to provide students with an overview of the resources available to them to research and write a 10,000 dissertation that is topical, original, scholarly, and substantial. DV410 will provide curated dissertation pathways through LSE LIFE and Methods courses, information sessions, ID-specific disciplinary teaching, topical seminars and dissertation worksops in ST. With this in mind, students will be able to design their own training pathway and set their own learning objectives in relation to their specific needs for their dissertation. From the Autumn Term (AT) through to Summer Term (ST), students will discuss and develop their ideas in consultation with their mentor or other members of the ID department staff and have access to a range of learning resources (via DV410 Moodle page) to support and develop their individual projects from within the department and across the LSE. 

Prizewinning dissertations

The archive of prizewinning dissertations showcases the best MSc dissertations from previous years. These offer a useful guide to current students on how to prepare and write a high calibre dissertation.

2022-OW (PDF) The Politics of Political Conditionality: How theEU Is Failing the Western Balkans Pim W.R.Oudejans Joint winner of Mayling Birney Prize for Best Overall Performance MSc Development Management 

2022-GN (PDF) An Empirical Study of the Impact of Kenya’sFree Secondary Education Policy on Women’sEducation Nora Geiszl Winner of Prize for Best Dissertation MSc Development Management 

2022-JC  (PDF) Giving with one hand, taking with the other:the contradictory political economy of socialgrants in South Africa Jack Calland Prize for Best Overall Performance MSc Development Studies

2022-GL (PDF) State Versus Market: The Case of Tobacco Consumption in Eastern European and Former Soviet Transition Economies Letizia Gazzaniga Joint winner of Prize for Best Overall Performance MSc Health and International Development

2022-ER (PDF) Reproductive injustice across forced migration trajectories: Evidence from female asylum-seekers fleeing Central America’s Northern Triangle Emily Rice Joint winner of Prize for Best Overall Performance MSc Health and International Development

2022-LICB  (PDF) The effects of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) on child nutrition following an adverseweather shock: the case of Indonesia Liliana Itamar Carillo Barba Winner Prize for Best Dissertation MSc Health and International Development 2022-SC (PDF) Fiscal Responses to Conditional Debt Relief:the impact of multilateral debt cancellation on taxation patterns Sara Cucaro  Joint winner of Prize for Best Dissertation MSc International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies

2022-RM  (PDF) Navigating humanitarian space(s) to provideprotection and assistance to internally displacedpersons: applying the concept of ahumanitarian ‘micro-space’ to the caseof Rukban in Syria Miranda Russell  Joint winner of Prize for Best Dissertation MSc International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies

2021-CC  (PDF) International Remittances and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Investigating Resilient Remittance Flows from Italy during 2020 Carla Curreli Joint winner of Mayling Birney Prize for Best Overall Performance and Winner of Prize for Best Dissertation MSc Development Management 

2021-NB  (PDF) Reluctant respondents: Early settlement by developing countries during WTO disputes Nicholas Baxtar Joint winner of Mayling Birney Prize for Best Overall Performance MSc Development Management (Specialism: Applied Development)

2021-CD  (PDF) One Belt, Many Roads? A Comparison of Power Dynamics in Chinese Infrastructure Financing of Kenya and Angola Conor Dunwoody  Winner of Prize for Best Dissertation MSc Development Studies

2021-NN  (PDF) Tool for peace or tool for power? Interrogating Turkish ‘water diplomacy’ in the case of Northern Cyprus Nina Newhouse Winner of Prize for Best Overall Performance MSc Development Studies

2021-CW  (PDF) Exploring Legal Aid Provision for LGBTIQ+Asylum Seekers in the American Southwest from 2012-2021 Claire Wever Winner of Prize for Best Dissertation MSc International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies

2021-BP  (PDF) Instrumentalising Threat; An Expansion of Biopolitical Control Over Exiles in Calais During the COVID-19 Pandemic Bethany Plant Joint winner of Prize for Best Overall Performance MSc International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies

2021-HS  (PDF) A New “Green Grab”? A Multi-Scalar Analysis of Exclusion in the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) Project, Kenya Helen Sticklet Joint winner of Prize for Best Overall Performance MSc International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies

2021-GM  (PDF) Fuelling policy: The Role of Public Health Policy-Support Tools in Reducing Household Air Pollution as a Risk-Factor for Non-Communicable Diseases in LMICs Georgina Morris Winner of Prize for Best Dissertation MSc Health and International Development 

2021-LC  (PDF) How do women garment workers employ practices of everyday resistance to challenge the patriarchal gender order of Sri Lankan society? Lois Cooper Joint winner of Prize for Best Overall Performance MSc Health and International Development 

2020-LK  (PDF) Can international remittances mitigate negative effects of economic shocks on education? – The case of Nigeria Lara Kasperkovitz Best Overall Performance Best Dissertation Prize International Development and Humanitarian Emergengies 

“Fallen through the Cracks” The Network for Childhood Pneumonia and Challenges in Global Health Governance  Eva Sigel Best Overall Performance Health and International Development 

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Graduate programmes

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Master of Arts in International Relations

Our dynamic and interconnected world needs a cutting-edge workforce of change-makers and disruptors who understand how economics, geopolitics, security and the environment are inextricably linked — exactly what you will learn as a graduate student at San Francisco State University.

Professors Skonieczny and Banerjee celebrate the success of ISA-West Conference participants from the IR M.A. Program.

As the only M.A. in International Relations in the California State University System, our two-year program attracts students and faculty from all over the world. Our program prepares graduate students to enter a competitive workforce in government, business and non-profits or to pursue advanced graduate training leading to a Ph.D. We are the only CSU department to be an affiliate member of the prestigious Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs offering numerous professional opportunities for our students and graduates. Our program is also a Western Regional Graduate Program offering in-state tuition to 16 Western Region state residents including Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.

Why Join Us?

• Join a cohort of 20-25 graduate students representing the world and the changing demographics of the United States — 2/3 of our students identify as Asian, LatinX and/or African-American 
• Our program offers an academic emphasis or a professional emphasis that allows for either a thesis OR an immersive internship experience 
• Spend a semester of our program abroad  at universities in Italy, Japan and South Korea
• Affordable Tuition — Western State Residents pay under $9,000 per year, financial aid and some limited scholarships are available to eligible graduate students 

Watch a panel with two SF State Alumni about conducting field work as Master's students: Isaac Cisneros (M.A. International Relations '22; B.A. Political Science, Latin American Studies Minor '18) and Amalia Menjivar (B.A. International Relations, Political Science, Latin American Studies Minor '20).

Grad Program Events

Get to know our Graduate Program in International Relations this Spring! Please register in advance for all Zoom sessions.

Program Snapshot

• Prospective Students
• Current Students
• Learning Outcomes

Spring 2024 application deadline is December 1, 2023. Classes start January 29, 2024

Fall 2024 application deadline is March 15, 2024. Classes start in August, 2024

The application fee is $70. U.S. Veterans may apply for a fee waiver. Under special hardship circumstances additional application fee waivers may be considered. Prospective students can email [email protected] for potential fee waivers. Unfortunately, SF State does not offer fee waivers for F1/international students.

Want to find out more about our program? Watch our past presentations online!

• Facebook Live: Choosing a Graduate Program that’s Right for Me
• M.A. Program Overview and Q/A with Graduate Coordinator and Current Students  (passcode: gFRq@Z9$)

Applying to the Program 

Please apply through the Graduate Division. 

Admission Criteria—Department of International Relations 

To receive serious consideration, applicants will have a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) with relevant course work and a grade point average of at least 3.0 in the last 60 units of undergraduate study.  

Where relevant, students should meet  minimum English Language Proficiency requirements . 

The graduate coordinator may require successful applicants to supplement their background in international relations with coursework, readings and/or essays prior to or during their first year in the program. In such instances, applicants will be admitted to the program with conditionally classified standing. 

Materials Required to Apply 

An unofficial transcript from all programs attended. Note: An official transcript will be required upon acceptance.    

The names and email addresses of three recommenders who can comment on your abilities, achievements, and likelihood of success in a Master's program. Use Cal State Apply’s Program Evaluation feature to request and manage letters of recommendation. Note: We desire at least two letters from former instructors who are knowledgeable about your academic skills and potential.    

A personal statement offering your reasons for embarking on graduate study in international relations, your reasons for selecting our program, your theoretical, functional, or geographic interests, and resume type information. Your personal statement should not exceed 1,000 words.    

A research paper in English on a social science topic (1,500 to 9,000 words). If you do not have such a paper in English, please submit a short essay (1,500 words or less) on an international issue of your choice with adequate citations.     

TOEFL, IELTS or PTE scores (required for students whose undergraduate degree was obtained in a language other than English). Foreign students also are encouraged to provide results for the TOEFL listening test or equivalent as well. Please check with ETS for the latest school code information. 

Graduate Division Resources 

• Key Graduate Division Deadlines  
• Steps for Completing a Master's Degree  

On-Campus Services 

• Job Search Services and Career Development  
• CARP (Campus Academic Resource Program)  
• ETC (English Tutoring Center)  
• LAC (Learning Assistance Center)  
• Tutoring Resources for Writing  

Fellowships Office  

• Graduate Writing Workshops – cover how to produce more incisive, elegant academic writing  
• National Fellowship Program Information Workshops – include detailed information on how to craft the essays and address application prompts   
• CSU Pre-Doctoral Program and Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program Information Workshops – include detailed information on how to craft the essays and address application prompts. The Pre-Doc Program workshop includes content required for application to Ph.D. programs 

Library Support Services 

• Citations & Their Formats (online tutorial) 
• Citing References  
• Software available for SFSU students (under: Campus software licenses) 

Study Abroad Information 

Spend a semester abroad and experience as well as learn about the world. The IR department works with the SF State Study abroad office to offer the following programs for graduate students with no delay in their time to graduation. 

• University of Pavia  in Pavia, Italy  (Prof. Siegel discusses this opportunity)  
• Meiji University  in Tokyo, Japan 
• Chung-Ang University  in Seoul, Korea 

Visit the SF State Study Abroad website to find out more.

Culminating Experience (IR 892 Internship/IR 898 Master’s Thesis) 

• Internship Guidelines and Forms  
• Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) and Culminating Experience (CE) Forms (Must be completed before registering for 892/898)  
• ilearn (892/898)-Please check the ilearn page for CE students regularly for updates, forms and current deadlines  

Sample Culminating Experience Papers

• Sample Master’s Thesis (Maria Guadalupe Cruz Cardenas, Class of 2022) (pdf)
• Sample Master’s Thesis Pelin Gul, Class of 2020  (pdf)
• Sample Internship Paper, Benita Pungwe Mpala, Class of 2021  (pdf)

The graduate program for International Relations consists of core requirements, elective classes and either an academic emphasis or a professional emphasis. The academic emphasis is for students who prefer to write an academic thesis, and may go on to pursue a Ph.D. in a variety of fields such as Political Science, Sociology or Global Studies or teach at a community college. The professional emphasis is for students who prefer to embark on an intensive internship (140 hours minimum) and gain work experience in the field. Professional emphasis students complete an internship report paper in place of an academic thesis to complete the culminating experience requirement.  

Core Requirements-Required 

• I R 720 Theory and Approaches in International Relations, 3 units  
• I R 725 The Analysis of Foreign Policy, 3 units 
• I R 728 International Political Economy, 3 units 
• I R 730 – I R 739 The International System and Its Problems series (select 1 course), 3 units 
• I R 740 – I R 749 Comparative Foreign Policies series (select 1 course), 3 units 
• I R 730 – I R 749 Elective (select 1 course), 3 units 

Choose ONE (either can also serve as an elective course) 

• I R 750 Methods and Thesis Selection in International Relations, 3 units 
• I R 751 Data Analysis and Evaluation Research in International Relations , 3 units 

Total for core: 21 units 

Electives-Choose 3 Classes (9 units) 

Subject to availability. For current course offerings, check the SFSU class schedule . Courses are rotated and generally offered only once every year.  

• Up to two upper-division undergraduate classes can be substituted for graduate electives. Must be approved by the graduate coordinator 
• Electives can also be chosen from related departments such as History, Political Science, Geography, International Business, Public Administration and others. Must be approved by the graduate coordinator 
• For complete course descriptions, see the bulletin . 

International Relations M.A. Electives 

• I R 705 Get Ready for a Career in International Relations (Units: 2) 
• I R 709 Colloquium in International Relations (Unit: 1) 
• I R 731 Politics of Multinational Corporations (Units: 3) 
• I R 734 International Migration (Units: 3) 
• I R 735 Seminar in Global Environmental Policy (Units: 3) 
• I R 736 International Development and Globalization (Units: 3) 
• I R 737 Seminar in Regional Economic Communities (Units: 3) 
• I R 738 Contemporary International Legal Issues (Units: 3) 
• I R 739 International Security (Units: 3) 
• I R 741 Africa (Units: 3) 
• I R 742 Seminar on American Foreign Policy (Units: 3) 
• I R 743 Seminar in Chinese Foreign Policy (Units: 3) 
• I R 745 Latin America (Units: 3) 
• I R 746 The Middle East (Units: 3) 
• I R 747 Russia and the West (Units: 3) 
• I R 749 Asia and the World System (Units: 3) 

Minimum total electives: 9 units

Academic Emphasis 

I R 898 Master’s Thesis, 3 units  

Minimum total for emphasis requirements 3 units 

Combined degree total: 33   units

Professional Emphasis 

I R 892 Graduate Internship in International Relations 3, units  

Minimum total for emphasis requirements 3 

Combined degree total: 33   units

Department Advising

There are two sources of International Relations (IR) Department advising for graduate students: (a) the graduate coordinator; and (b) IR faculty. 

(a) The graduate coordinator can help students with general course and career planning, M.A. program planning, department formalities (e.g., proposal for a culminating experience, Graduate Approved Program (GAP) substitutions or revisions, or course transfer evaluations), study abroad and university rules and regulations and petitions. 

(b) IR faculty can provide students with course and career advising. Their value added is that they can give guidance in the specific regional and thematic areas that interest students. In addition, they can aid students in building the network and portfolio which will help them pursue their longer-term career/intellectual goals. IR faculty also are an essential part of the supervising committee for culminating experience projects and will support students’ efforts to develop and execute their culminating experience projects. Given the importance of IR faculty as advisors, students are strongly encouraged to develop an informal mentoring relationship with one or more faculty soon after their first semester in the program. 

Degree Timeline 

Every semester: It is to the advantage of students to communicate with the graduate coordinator and/or a faculty advisor at least once a semester about their course and program plans. 

Two-Year Degree Timeline : Semester by Semester Guide (pdf)

2nd Year Fall: Complete the ATC and CE Form prior to your final semester .  

• Students should acquire a good understanding of international relations theories and their applications in the world.  
• Students should be able to examine the role of state and non-state actors on the global stage and critically approach contemporary schools of thought in International relations.  
• Students should be able to develop skills and experience to engage in a variety of sectors: public, private, academic and nonprofit.  
• Students should be able to generate research questions and systematically use theory and evidence to address these questions.  
• Students should be able to conduct research using primary and secondary sources to deepen their understanding of a global issue.  
• Students should be able to follow the disciplinary conventions of writing and analysis in international relations.  
• Student writing should show evidence of independent thinking, conceptual analysis and problem-solving abilities.  
• Students must be well-versed in a program area in international relations such as international security, foreign policy, international migration, international development or regional studies.  
• Students should develop an advanced understanding of international relations and important issues such as human rights, climate change and international conflict and be able to apply their knowledge to a specific topic.  
• Student internships and teaching engagements should generate knowledge and experience useful to the career goals of the graduate students. 

The documents on this website might not be fully accessible to persons with disabilities. We are working to fix these accessibility barriers. If you experience difficulty in accessing this content, please contact the Department of International Relations by email at [email protected] and we will provide you with accessible alternatives .

Additional Information

Graduate coordinator.

Anyone with questions about our program is encouraged to contact our Graduate Coordinator, Dr. Amy Skonieczny, via email at  [email protected] .

For More Information

View the  SF State Bulletin M.A. in IR page  for more information regarding the program.

Funding Assistance

Our department does not offer paid TA or RA positions at this time.

However, there are several ways  to fund your graduate education  including Federal Financial Aid, Grants, Work-Study, and some University,  College level  and  IR departmental Scholarships  including the  Dwight Simpson Memorial Scholarship  and the  Benny & May Chin Scholarship in International Relations .

• Email: [email protected]
• Telephone: (415) 338-2654

Office Hours

Quick links.

• Undergraduate Advising Center
• SF Bulletin
• Financial Aid
• Study Abroad
• Career Resources

International Relations and Diplomacy Master Thesis

Introduction

The Master program in International Relations and Diplomacy requires the writing of a thesis (15 ECTS points), in addition to the successful completion of the required courses. Theses will be in the area of international relations, international organisation and/or diplomacy.

Students are free in the selection of the topic for the thesis, but must do so in consultation with potential thesis supervisors. It is advisable that the student starts thinking about the topic of his/her final Master’s thesis at an early stage. During the course ‘Research Design’, offered in the first year, students are trained in how to develop a research design and how to plan research for a thesis. The several courses offered in this Master program help students focus on a challenging and relevant topic to be explored in a thesis. In several cases, it may be profitable to link the topic of the thesis with insights gained during the internship, or topics especially relevant to the student’s own career plans. Master’s theses can, for example, deal with questions of international conflict resolution, international organization, diplomacy, European integration, international political economy, governance or negotiation analysis.

The thesis is written under the supervision of two members of the departmental faculty or one member of the department in cooperation with a staff member of Clingendael who is teaching in this programme. One of these two experts is the primary supervisor. The second supervisor co-decides about the approval of the thesis proposal and about the thesis assessment and grade, and can be consulted during the process of research and writing. The student is free to choose his/her first thesis supervisor out of the list of faculty members who are experts in the field of study and who are available and amenable. The 2nd supervisor is assigned by the educational coordinator Dr. Frits Meijerink.

During the first semester of the second year of studies, the student is expected to start work on the thesis and, by the end of the semester, to submit a thesis proposal to the primary supervisor. This proposal must include a problem statement, theoretical foundation, conceptualization and, if applicable, operationalisation of key variables, and the methodology and techniques for data collection and analysis. Students get an opportunity to work on, develop and present their thesis proposals during the ‘Thesis laboratory’ course offered in the second half of the first semester (second year of studies), in order to obtain further relevant input and feedback for their research. The thesis work should be completed in the fourth block of the second year of the MA program. In general, the thesis should be no shorter than 40 pages (ca. 16.000 words) and no longer than 60 pages (ca. 24.000 words), including tables and footnotes.

The MA thesis needs to comply with high standards of academic research and writing. In various courses offered in this program, the student will learn how to write academic papers and how to conduct research in topics relevant to international relations, international organization and political science more generally. Among the criteria used to evaluate the thesis are its originality, consistency, academic (and if applicable, societal) relevance, the choice of an adequate theoretical framework, the correct application of analytical methods, the quality of data collection, and presentation of the text. It is important that the thesis is consistent, clear and original in the sense of constituting a contribution to ongoing research.

Each thesis is supervised by two faculty members of the Department of Political Science at Leiden University. One of the supervisors may be a faculty member of Clingendael teaching in this program. First, the student draws up a thesis proposal that needs to be approved by both supervisors before actual work on the thesis can begin. Regular supervision is in the hands of the first supervisor. The second supervisor approves the proposal, together with the first supervisor, in the beginning of the supervision process and co-evaluates it with the first supervisor once the thesis is completed. Actual supervision starts with the first supervisor discussing the thesis proposal with the student in depth, possibly leading to improvements. Generally, several rounds of discussion and revision are needed until the proposal can be accepted. During the first meeting in which the proposal is discussed, the student is reminded of the Department’s quality criteria regarding Master’s theses as contained in the thesis evaluation form.

Once the first supervisor accepts the thesis proposal, it is submitted to the second supervisor. If the second supervisor considers the outline still to be inadequate, he or she communicates to the first supervisor which improvements are needed. The first supervisor discusses the requested improvements with the student. Once both supervisors agree with the outline, a meeting is scheduled with the student in which the first supervisor, and if possible also the second supervisor, participate. A copy of the thesis proposal, signed by both supervisors, is submitted to the Political Science secretariat by the first supervisor in order to place it into the student’s dossier of academic records.

The student and the first supervisor agree on a schedule and the ways in which supervision is to take place. Supervision may vary from frequent meetings, e.g. on a weekly basis, to discussion of individual chapters, to (in exceptional circumstances) a rare number of meetings only in the beginning and at the end of the thesis process. The second supervisor may be consulted in crucial stages of the research, by the first supervisor or in a discussion in which the student also participates.

The final version of the thesis is submitted to the first supervisor. A number of meetings and subsequent revisions may be needed before the thesis is considered to meet the required standards. Once the first supervisor considers the thesis to meet all basic requirements, it is submitted also to the second supervisor for evaluation. If the second supervisor considers the product to be insufficient, he or she informs the first supervisor and the student about further revisions needed. These suggestions are then discussed with the student by the first supervisor. Once the suggested revisions have been implemented, the first supervisor hands the revised version to the second supervisor. If the second supervisor accepts the product, the thesis evaluation form is filled in by both supervisors and the final grade is assigned.

Subsequently, if the student is still present in the Netherlands, the two supervisors schedule a final discussion or meeting with the student. This meeting results in the completion, and signing, of the ‘thesis evaluation form’ by both supervisors. Subsequently, the first supervisor hands the completed grade form, together with the thesis evaluation form, to the Political Science secretariat in order to have it added to the student’s dossier of academic records.

Students should take into account that supervisors may take up to three weeks to make an assessment of the final version of the thesis and that supervisors are not available for consultation and assessment through July-August. More information on the graduation procedures can be found on the website of Political Science.

Thesis proposals need to be approved by January 29, 2010.

June 7, 2010 is the deadline for students to hand in the final version of their thesis.

• Study and research support
• Academic skills

Dissertation examples

Listed below are some of the best examples of research projects and dissertations from undergraduate and taught postgraduate students at the University of Leeds We have not been able to gather examples from all schools. The module requirements for research projects may have changed since these examples were written. Refer to your module guidelines to make sure that you address all of the current assessment criteria. Some of the examples below are only available to access on campus.

• Undergraduate examples
• Taught Masters examples