Department of International Relations and Governance Studies

The Department of International Relations and Governance Studies (IRGS) currently offers three distinctive programs for prospective applicants. We offer undergraduate students a Major (research degree) in International Relations. Second, our IRGS doctoral program aims at a cohort of select research scholars. Third, our Minor in International Relations is designed for undergraduates pursuing a Major in any other discipline at our institution but are keen to expose themselves to the fundamentals of International Relations.

To our undergraduates pursuing an International Relations Major, the department offers a unique approach in terms of content and pedagogy. It trains students in traditional mainstream approaches while exposing them to various alternative critical approaches. We place an accent on real-world historical grounding along with an awareness of eclectic theoretical frameworks. The intent is to apply these frameworks to the pursuit of exciting thought-experiments about various dimensions of world politics and global governance. Research is actively encouraged at the department.

In terms of a traditional focus, students are exposed to the workings of national security, foreign policy formulation, diplomatic practices, and choices that inform the pursuit of power and influence across diverse political milieus. Students, over the course of four years, shall develop a sound appreciation of the workings of international organizations ranging from multilateral bodies like the United Nations to regional organizations like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Besides these traditional venues of international politics, we also give students a robust sense of non-state actors – multinational and transnational corporations, epistemic communities, social movements, and transnational advocacy networks. We traverse many issues – trade, security, development, and the environment. We also nurture a curiosity about the evolution of specific norms, for instance, those governing cyber governance today or more complex regimes such as the global refugee regime.

Substantively complementing our firm grounding in traditional approaches, we expose students to the limits and challenges that traditional frameworks pose in a complex world. We do believe that it is essential to understand the world from the context we find ourselves, on our terms. This entails a critical reception of mainstream scholarship, an awareness of the dominance of specific knowledge flows from the global North to the global South, and the need to address this asymmetry meaningfully. All faculty members in the department are actively invested in cutting-edge research, which substantively enriches their teaching.