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Department of Politics and International Studies

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About

Established in 1962, the Department of Politics and International Studies has grown into one of the largest Departments at SOAS and is now home to almost fifty academics and 1,000 students across undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The department offers a wide range of degree programmes provide students with expert grounding in the disciplines of Politics and International Relations through deep engagement with the historical legacies and political realities of Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The Department is unique in combining this regional expertise with the study of world politics from the perspective of the Global South.

The Department is home to the six centres with distinct research agendas and networks. Each centre is linked to one of our postgraduate degrees, and they regularly host events and external speakers.

Research at the Department of Politics and International Studies

The Department of Politics and International Studies is unique in its coverage of the world regions and respected for its combination of in-depth expertise of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and a critical approach to knowledge production.

Department of Politics and International Studies

Academic staff at the Department of Politics and International Studies

Academic staff at the Department of Politics and International Studies.

Our Head of Department says...

If you want to study politics from a non-western angle, this is the place to be. Most of our academics speak one or more of the languages in the regions they study; they spend substantial periods of time in their countries of expertise. This enables us to produce world-leading research. It also informs our teaching.

Together with our students, we explore politics in the rich and complex worlds of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. We also study the issues cutting across these regions and how they connect with other parts of the world. We show that politics—internationally and domestically—has many layers and many faces. We provide our students with the tools they need to understand the world around them. And, within that world, we encourage them to make a difference.

Professor Matthew J Nelson

Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Thought, South Asia, Islam, non-elite politics, democracy.

Facts and figures

5th in UK

QS World University Rankings 2023

17th worldwide

QS World University Rankings 2023

3rd worldwide

QS World University Rankings 2022 (Academic Reputation)

Latest news

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Latest events

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In the Department of Politics and International Studies

Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy

The Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS University of London.

Centre on Conflict, Rights and Justice

Centre on Conflict, Rights and Justice at SOAS University of London

Centre for Comparative Political Thought

The Centre for Comparative Political Thought at SOAS University of London.

Centre of Taiwan Studies

The Centre of Taiwan Studies at SOAS University of London.

London Asia-Pacific Centre for Social Science

The London Asia Pacific Centre for Social Science, SOAS University, University of London.

Centre for Energy and Climate Policy

Centre for Energy and Climate Policy (CECP) at SOAS University of London

In this section

Blogs

Department of Politics and International Studies & Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy

Careers: SOAS helped develop my worldview towards life and people

Dr Feroza Sanjana used her MA in International Studies and Diplomacy to deepen her knowledge of the institutions, politics and processes that underlie many of the global challenges her work now seeks to change.

Department of Politics and International Studies

Careers: "As a High Commissioner no two days are the same!"

Having grown up in a multi-cultural family in the UAE, Omar Daair knew he wanted his future career to have an international angle. Discover how his studies at lead him to his role of High Commissioner to Rwanda.

Department of Politics and International Studies

The Commonwealth under King Charles III

What is the meaning and value of the Commonwealth in this new era under King Charles III?

Department of Politics and International Studies

Brazilian elections: Lula’s victory is a relief but Bolsonarismo is alive

Bolsonaro may have lost the election but his legacy will profoundly impact the country and will be felt for several years.

Department of Politics and International Studies

Will India’s presence in Afghanistan lead to political change in South Asia?

Indian officials met with the foreign minister of Afghanistan for the first time since the Taliban takeover. What does this mean for the future of South Asian geopolitics?
Research

Intergenerational Justice in Eastern Africa

This research will explore intergenerational justice across the social sciences and humanities.

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Reframing Justice after Atrocity

Through historical and modern case studies in Latin America, Europe and Africa and the new conceptual framework of “arenas of accountability”, this project examines justice interactions that go beyond the linear international-to-national transmission of norms and practices.

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Civic Infrastructures of Torture

The project is based on exclusive access this research team has been granted to the archive of PCATI, which documents torture practices implemented by Israeli security agencies.

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Constitutional Transformation

Focusing on the making of the Indian Constitution, PACT aims to build an advanced digital platform that contextualizes the Indian Constituent Assembly debates (1946-49) within wider public debates on constitution-making.

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Migration Governance and Diplomacy

This project investigates how migration governance has been influenced by “refugee crises” and how crises at large shape policy responses on migration.

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Pan-African Frontiers and Identities

This multi-sited collaborative research project explores the diverse deployments of pan-Africanism as a geopolitical and policy framework both on the African continent and in the diaspora.

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African State Architecture

Professor Julia Gallagher and a team of researchers lead the African State Architecture project funded by a major grant from the European Research Council.

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Strategic Concept for Removal of Arms and Proliferation (SCRAP)

A comprehensive approach to realising global disarmament,

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ACE: Innovative approaches to anti-corruption

Finding impactful anti-corruption strategies around the world.

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Recognising the women who shaped the UN Charter

Recognising the key role of women of the Global South in establishing the equality of the sexes in the UN Charter of 1945.

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Events

6 December 2023

“We are selling tea from Taiwan”: merchants and the invention of the Taiwanese terroir

This talk will attempt to describe how actors narrativize ‘Taiwanese’ tea – the stories they tell others and their customers when they introduce their teas.

6 December 2023

Fewer elections for better democracy? How subnational centralization curbs clientelism in Taiwan

This public lecture will discuss how Taiwan's 2010 municipal reform reveals the impact of subnational political centralization on reducing clientelism in developed democracies.

8 December 2023

Book talk on Social Forces in the Remaking of cross-strait relations

This public event is a book launch session with Dr André Beckershoff on his newly published book Social Forces in the Re-Making of Cross-Strait Relations Hegemony and Social Movements in Taiwan.