INTERNATIONAL GOVERNANCE AND PUBLIC POLICY (IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BEIJING FOREIGN STUDIES UNIVERSITY) - BA (HONS) AND BA DIPLOMACY at Keele University

The BA International Governance and Public Policy is an interdisciplinary programme combining elements of three subjects: international relations and diplomacy, international business and international law. This combination of academic subjects will enable you to understand the major political, business and legal aspects of how international processes are organised and governed.

The major discipline in this degree programme is international relations (IR). International relations is based on a range of other disciplines in the social sciences: politics, sociology and (international) law, and the humanities – primarily history. The political aspect of the subject analyses the distribution of resources. In examining the related questions of power, order, justice, conflict and legitimacy in the interaction of people, ideas and institutions, international relations is, however, different to other approaches to politics.

Most analysis of national politics includes a study of what governments do, but because there is no government at the international level, international relations focuses on relations between states. IR explores the patterns of conflict and cooperation between states, international organisations and non-state actors such as transnational business corporations and civil society groups which make up the international political system.

International governance, as a subject, includes transnational trade, economic diplomacy and the system of rules that enable the global economy to function. By broadening the field of study beyond the core areas of international relations, the course examines how international business operates, how global interdependence is changing this, how international law regulates business and the global economy. This degree enables students to develop a wide-ranging understanding of international contexts and processes and has a focus on international governance and public policy at its core, including how these interact with business and law.

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