Politics or international relations: which should I study?
Politics may suit you better if you want to study domestic government, political institutions, public policy and political theory. International relations may suit you better if you are more interested in relations between states and other global actors, diplomacy, security, conflict and international organisations. Since the subjects overlap, compare the modules, assessment methods and optional units on specific courses.
Key points
- Politics can cover national and comparative politics, elections, ideologies, law and policymaking.
- International relations can include global governance, international law, foreign policy, security and the international political economy.
- Both subjects may develop research, analytical, writing and communication skills.
- Consider which topics, geographical focus and methods you would enjoy studying in depth.
Things to check
- Course titles and content vary by university and country, and some programmes combine both subjects.
- Check official course pages for current modules, teaching methods, assessment and any language or regional specialisms.