Department of Politics and International Relations

Source: https://www.york.ac.uk/politics/ Parent: https://www.york.ac.uk/about/departments/

At the heart of current political thinking, research and debate.

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Outstanding teaching led by international experts. Study across the full breadth of politics and international relations.

With a broad range of option modules, our courses allow you to study what you're most passionate about.

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Research

We're shaping global debates and breaking new ground to address the world's most pressing challenges.

At the forefront of the discipline, our research sparks action and influences policymaking.

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To study politics and international relations is to ask fundamental questions about the nature of the world - about war and peace, wealth and power, order and justice. At York, you'll have the opportunity to learn about these and other themes in a variety of different contexts, guided by our world-class researchers and teachers.

Professor Tony Heron, Head of Department of Politics and International Relations

11th in the UK

for Politics, according to The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026.

Ranked in the UK top ten

for the quality of our research outputs and our research environment in the Times Higher Education’s ranking of the latest REF results (2021).

13th in the UK

for Politics, according to the Complete University Guide 2026.

News

Professor Indrajit Roy has a new Special Collection in International Affairs.

18 March 2026

Professor Indrajit Roy has co-edited a Special Collection titled "Multiplexity 2.0: Power and plurality in a post-liberal world" just published in the prestigious Chatham House journal International Affairs. In addition to co-authoring the introduction to the collection, he has also contributed an article titled "Assering Southern agency: The moralistic realism of multiplexity" to the collection.

Professor Anastasia Shesterinina has published a new report

12 March 2026

A newly published report “Civil War Paths: A Research Programme on Civil War as a Social Process” detailing key findings of the Civil War Paths project funded by the UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship “Understanding Civil War from Pre- to Post-War Stages: A Comparative Approach” is now available to read.

Jose Gutierrez Danton has new book published

3 March 2026

Edited by José Gutiérrez Danton and Francisco Gutiérrez-Sanín, Criminality, Political Power and Conflict, discusses historically grounded processes by which politics and criminality has been built as separated spheres of human activity through conflict and state-building.

New article out in New Political Economy by Bernardo Rangoni (with Mark Thatcher)

16 February 2026

Dr Bernardo Rangoni and Professor Mark Thatcher have published a new article in New Political Economy titled Re-politicising merger policy: regulating foreign takeovers in Britain and Italy.

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