The Politics and International Relations program is part of the School of Political and Social Inquiry within the Arts Faculty of Monash University; it is based on the Clayton and Caulfield campuses. We offer undergraduate, Honours and postgraduate degrees.Many subjects are available for study and there’s a range of expertise available for supervision. Numerous careers are potentially open to Politics graduates.
A key issue in Politics (of which International Relations is a sub-set) is the study of power. Where does power come from, who has it, and how does it affect who gets what? Politics is also very concerned with ‘values’, which are special types of ideas — such as freedom, democracy, equality and security. What do such ideas really mean, and how can we achieve them in practice?
Within this setting, Politics covers a vast spread of more specific issues. These include the following examples: elections and public opinion; terrorism & the responses to it; foreign policy; globalisation; the role of the media; and Canberra’s place in managing the Australian economy. Many more topics can be added to this list.
At Monash three broad areas of politics are particularly well represented, with each offering a range of units for study:
- Political Theory & Philosophy
- Australian Government and Politics
- International Relations
For Course and Unit information see:
See Also:
- Program Convenor : Associate Professor Paul Strangio
- PSI Advanced Studies
- PSI Research
- Victorian Parliamentary Internship – Unit not running in semester 2, 2013
What sort of skills will I have if I study Politics and International Relations?Studying Politics develops capabilities which can be applied in many other areas of study as well as work. These include the following overlapping skills: Analysis and logical thinking. The ability to sort things out and impose intellectual control on what is otherwise an overwhelming or confusing set of facts and opinions. The capacity to make connections between ...
Australian Government and PoliticsThere is more to politics than guns and death. When the shooting stops, civil governance has to start. In fact most countries, most of the time, are at peace. A truly well-rounded Politics graduate must have an understanding of civil governance. The study of Australian government and politics provides the pathway to obtaining this critically ...
International RelationsInternational Relations is a sub-set of Politics. It explores such matters as war and peace, global economic management, international rules & organisations, foreign policy, the evolution of ethics in a global context, dealing with ‘failed’ and ‘rogue’ states, terrorism and the responses to it. Thus International Relations looks both at specific issues in some detail ...
Political and Social TheoryQuestions of power – what is it? who has it? who should have it? – resound in discussions of national or international affairs today. Answering these questions requires us to think about how we judge the priority of often opposing values such as freedom and order, equality and rank, individuality and community. Political theorists aim ...
