Dubrovnik School of Diplomacy > Graduate
Graduate Master of Arts Program in International Relations and Diplomacy
Advertisment for applications to graduate program - in Croatian
International careers increasingly require knowledge and skills that transcend the confines of traditional academic disciplines. The contemporary world is strongly characterized by parallel processes of globalization and integration. These processes pervade almost all areas of human activity, and the issues that foreign policy makers resolve at the highest levels more and more affect citizens’ ordinary lives. These developments have raised strong interest in the study of International Relations and Diplomacy and, concurrently, have created a need for professionals who understand those subjects.
Operating under a joint partnership, Dubrovnik International University, Institute for Cultural Diplomacy and Sveučilište u Zadru are the first institutions to offer a Master of Arts degree program that will educate students from Croatia and the world in several academic disciplines related to International Relations and Diplomacy, based on excellence and cooperation with the world’s leading universities.
The key objectives of the program are to impart students with a strong foundation in international relations theory and diplomatic methods, allow them to explore and examine a particular area of interest through core requirements in each of the four (4) concentrations offered, and gain practical knowledge and insight through a summer internship program in a relevant international institution. Additionally, the MA program places a strong emphasis on individual and written work by obliging students to research and compose several seminar works, complete a course in quantitative and qualitative methodology, and successfully write and defend a master’s dissertation.
An individualized approach to academic work, both within the classroom and in independent study, is a hallmark of this MA program that will be ensured through small classes, significant faculty-student interaction, mentorship relationships and active student engagement in course activities and seminar discussions.
The MA in International Relations and Diplomacy offers three separate concentrations:
- International Relations and Diplomacy: The concentration is focused on preparing students to be foreign affairs and diplomacy practitioners and analysts in an increasingly complex global environment. This environment places a premium on breadth of knowledge across disciplines to include politics; current international affairs ranging from economic to climate change considerations; international and national legal systems; and security studies. It rewards those with an understanding of and appreciation for the tools of statecraft, including diplomacy, coercion, and intelligence. It requires an understanding of the “drivers” of contemporary change: national interests, multinational relationships and accords, security policies, cultural values and legal constraints.
- Commercial Diplomacy: The concentration explores the connection between international institutions and global economics by looking at the role of international business and financial organizations in shaping transnational networks and actors, global political policies, conflict and national and regional development. International commerce is a key, and often misunderstood, component of diplomatic and state relationships. The expanding system of international financial institutions and trade agreements coupled with the process of globalization has created new opportunities, challenges and dependencies among states and regions. In addition to receiving a background in IR and diplomacy, students in this concentration are introduced to the make-up of the international economy, economic development issues in nations around the word and business practices that define much of what we regard as international affairs.
- The European Union: The concentration is designed to expand the understanding of what distinguishes today’s European order from previous orders, how Europe has reached its current position, what structures, policies, laws and regulations form the EU and serve as significant determinants of Europe’s future, and how the contemporary politics of the EU - its institutional architecture, party politics, contested legitimacy, and ambiguous identity – are shaped and exercised. As Croatia stands on the brink of EU membership, it is increasingly necessary to prepare young leaders to consider and comprehend an array of policy challenges now facing Europe, including the introduction and preservation of a monetary union, the coordination of social and cultural policy, the development of a common foreign and security policy, and expansion to the East and South.
- Cultural Diplomacy: This concentration will explore the field of cultural diplomacy and the related concept of soft power, both of which are increasingly prominent in international relations. As Walter Lacquer has commented: “...far from being on the verge of a new order, the world has entered a period of great disorder. In facing these new dangers, a re-examination of old priorities is needed. Cultural diplomacy, in the widest sense, has increased in importance, whereas traditional diplomacy and military power…are of limited use in coping with most of these dangers”. Politicians, diplomats, academics and other key stakeholders are now aware of the role that a country’s image and reputation play in determining the success of its foreign policy. The challenges outlined earlier demand multilateral cooperation based on dialogue, understanding, and trust. Cultural diplomacy can be seen as instrumental in achieving such cooperation. It prescribes a new approach to international relations which places mutuality, attraction, and persuasion above coercion and threats.
The MA program in International Relations and Diplomacy is carried out at both Dubrovnik International University and at Sveučilište u Zadru with the same required course of study. (It may occur that general elective courses differ slightly between the two locations.) Students are permitted and indeed encouraged to move between the two locations should their coursework require it. However, they may complete their education in one location alone. They are likewise able to choose a faculty member to serve as their Dissertation mentor from either University’s faculties. The MA program in International Relations and Cultural Diplomacy is carried out at Dubrovnik International University and at Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin.
The program at Dubrovnik International University and at Institute for Cultural Diplomacy is offered exclusively in English, while at Sveučilište u Zadru, the curriculum is in both English and Croatian.
For more information and application materials please contact us at diu@diu.hr