M.A. in Political Science and Public Affairs
The world of international politics, shaped by questions of war and peace, social movements and inter-state relations, emerging insecurities and vulnerabilities, global re-orderings and crises of global leadership has seen the number, intensity and impact of crises, emergencies and conflicts increase in recent years. We could say that the international system as a whole is undergoing a profound crisis.
To understand this period of transition and radical re-orientations, Saint Louis University’s Master of Arts in Political Science and Public Affairs, with a concentration in International Relations and Crisis, will familiarize you with the key theoretical, political and social dimensions of the global governance of insecurity and the emergence, management and consequences of crises today.
Program Description
Over the course of this program, you will engage a variety of genres of crisis, each with its distinct forms of manifestation, from systemic crises and global re-orderings to institutional crises of effectiveness, crises of global economic governance, crises of global leadership, political crises of representation, crises of the nation-state, humanitarian and environmental crises, and new wars.
Crises are turbulent and uncertain times, but they also constitute an opening, a re-orientation, and provide the terrain on which progressive social forces can emerge and shape events. The program will provide you with the key concepts, methods and critical thinking skills to diagnose, analyze and work toward resolving many of these current and future challenges.
This program will allow you to contextualize key contemporary crises, understand their complex emergence and manifestation, and diagnose their wide-ranging consequences. The training will focus on providing you with the necessary skills both for scenario-building and complex analysis and for critical leadership, aiming to produce graduates able to imagine and shape a more hopeful future for international politics.
This program is designed for those holding a B.A. in Political Science/International Relations, or a related field, particularly those interested in developing a deeper understanding of key contemporary crises, their complex causality and manifestation, and developing resourceful and imaginative solutions.
4 reasons to study our Master’s in Political Science and Public Affairs
1
American degree at a U.S. campus in Europe
2
Crisis Management
The program familiarizes our students with the key theoretical, political and social dimensions of the global governance of insecurity and the emergence, management, and consequences of crises today.
3
Complete, global and enriching experience
Studies include a combination of conferences, seminars and crisis talks.
4
Guaranteed internships
We assure internships with key governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.
*Requirements: B.A. in Political Science/International Relations or equivalent with an excellent academic record.
12:1
Students from the Unites States, Spain and other countries.
WHEN MADRID IS YOUR CAMPUS
Campus Life
MADRID
Madrid is a vibrant, safe city that makes a great vacation destination — and an even greater place to study. We offer students, families and educational professionals the chance to visit the SLU-Madrid campus during guided tours year-round. Our faculty will help you get situated in your new home as soon as you arrive.
MEET THE DIRECTOR
Barah Mikaïl
Ph.D., M.A. in Political Science, M.A. in International Relations and M.A. in Arabic and Islamic Civilizations. Director of the M.A. in Political Science and Public Affairs and professor of Geopolitics of the Middle East and North Africa and International Terrorism.
MEET THE DIRECTOR
SIMONA RENTEA
(MA and PhD in International Relations, University of Manchester, UK) is an Associate Professor and the Director of the MA in Political Science and Public Affairs (International Relations and Crisis). She specializes in International Relations theory, conceptualizations of order and crisis, the biopolitical inflections of the crisis of the liberal order, and the role of emotions in politics. Empirically, she has researched popular responses to the 2008 financial crisis, social movements and mobilizations motivated by and responding to anxiety in Southern Europe and Eastern Europe. Her book, The Routledge Handbook of Biopolitics (Routledge, 2016), scoped out research on biopolitics across a variety of social science and humanities disciplines and articulated a new framework for understanding governance today.
She teaches IR Theory and Practice, Key Contemporary Crises, and Research Methods in the MA program.
Professors
MEET FACULTY
Daniel Blanch
M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science (University of Denver, USA). He is Coordinator of the International Studies program at SLU Madrid and specializes in the crises and resilience of established democracies, particularly citizen participation, political legitimacy and accountability, democratic and normative principles, and social transformation in the public sphere as key areas of research. Regular media appearances combined with his role as Associate Professor provide opportunities to engage broadly on contemporary issues of US politics in relation to Europe. He teaches US Foreign Policy in the MA program.
Marco da Costa
(M.A. Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Ph.D. in History Universidad de Barcelona, Spain) is a political historian, specializing in political propaganda during the Spanish Republic, the Spanish Civil War, and the first Franco regime, 1939-1945. He has also written on European totalitarianisms, with a special interest in the ideological and cultural contacts between National Socialism and the Spanish intelligentsia during the 1930s and 1940s. He teaches the European Politics class in the MA program.
Neville Li
Li joins St. Louis University Madrid in Spring 2023. Previously he held positions at the City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Lingnan University, and University of Bath, where he also earned his Ph.D. in Politics, Languages and International Studies. His Ph.D. research examines the discursive process of constructing population dynamics as security threats in the People’s Republic of China. Since the Hong Kong Occupy Movement, his research has focused more on politics and international relations in the Asia-Pacific. He teaches International Political Economy in Times of Crisis and Politics of Economic Development in the MA program.
Francisco Seijo
Laura Tedesco
Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in Political Science. She works on political leadership in Latin America.
Her last book, authored with Rut Diamint (Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires) was published by Buenos Aires University in 2019: ¿Demócratas o Usurpadores? Un análisis de líderes sudamericanos (EUDEBA, 2019)
Since 2016, she coordinates a research project about future political scenarios in Cuba. Her last article has been published by Revista Deusto de Derechos Humanos in June 2020 titled Violación de derechos humanos en Cuba ¿Alta o baja intensidad?
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The M.A. is a 30-credit hour program delivered over one or two academic years, including the summer terms.
All courses are taught in English. For some of the internship opportunities, Spanish may be either a requirement or an advantage.
(Knowledge of Spanish or other languages is highly encouraged as it is helpful for a career in international affairs).
We accept students with backgrounds in related social science and humanities fields, particularly those with a keen interest in the analysis of contemporary crises. The connection with the program should be outlined in the application statement and interview.
The M.A. in Political Science offers several merit-based awards: The Regis 100, Regis 50 and the Manresa Assistantship. It is important to note that these are tuition discounts, rather than full scholarships (with a maintenance grant).
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