The Institute for Diplomacy and International Governance (IDIG) is one of our seven Institutes here at Loughborough University London. In this blog Professor Helen Drake, Director of the Institute for Diplomacy and International Governance, shares an overview of the Institute, the master’s programmes we offer and how the Institute can support your career development. Take a look below.

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I’m Helen Drake, Professor of French and European Studies and IDIG director since 2017. That was when I left Loughborough University (East Midlands campus) to set up the new Institute. I wanted be part of the new venture of the London campus and I love how interdisciplinary it is, how dynamic, diverse, energetic.  I love the location of the campus, and love leading the Institute.

What do we do in IDIG?

Along with the six other Institutes on the Loughborough University London campus, we conduct research, we raise funds for our research, we publish, and we share our findings with other academics, our students, policy-makers and other professionals.  We each have our networks of contacts working in all sorts of professions, not only in London but in the UK and beyond, and we draw on those networks to invite speakers into our classroom and curriculum: you will meet professionals who will share their practical experience (and secrets) with you.  

What do we teach?

If you are joining us in October 2021 then we in IDIG can offer you four different master’s programmes, plus a fifth masters run jointly Institute for International Management). 

All of our programmes are designed to keep pace with the changing realities of today’s world, and our programmes all share a number of modules which we think are vital for careers across many professions, namely how to negotiate, how to conduct diplomacy in its many forms, and how to decode the central role of politics in shaping virtually all professional activity. Each programme then offers specialist content such as Peacebuilding; Media, Politics and Social Movements; Corporate Governance, State and Development; as well as other optional courses. All programmes, finally, include a dissertation as well as the Collaborative Project which is taken by all students on the London campus, and is where students collaborate with each other and with an external organization to address a challenge that is live and pressing for that organization.

Our programmes

Diplomacy and International Governance

This programme provides the most choice, allowing you to tailor your programme closely to your own goals and interests where both your studies and your career are concerned. You will be encouraged to acquire a critical awareness of the contemporary world order and explore how students and diplomats alike can learn from the past to deal with the challenges of the future. Your programme includes Foreign Policy analysis  – the bread and butter of traditional diplomacy by sovereign nation states – and you learn how the United Nations operates to contain all those nation states for the benefit (in theory) of collective world order. Graduates of this programme will be equipped with the advanced skills and expertise in order to pursue a career in diplomacy, negotiations, advocacy, lobbying, political analysis, communications or other related fields.

Diplomacy, Politics and Trade

This is our newest programme, starting in October 2021.  Diplomacy, Politics and Trade are never far from the world’s headlines. In this programme you will join the dots between them, studying the consequences of political choices for all kinds of trade; exploring the balance between politics, diplomacy and trade in response to crisis; examining the impact of scandal and sleaze in sports and many other areas of public life; and scrutinizing the political trade in truth and lies. You will emerge as a professional with the competitive skills to enhance your career prospects wherever you are in the world, and whatever your business ambitions. 

Diplomacy, Business and Trade

This is one of the first programmes ever run by the Institute.  It’s possible that you are already ahead in your business career and want to brush up on your professional skills and learn about cutting edge research and thinking about your business environment.  Perhaps you want to switch careers.  You will learn in an environment that is tailor-made to develop the skills needed to critically understand globalisation, as well as knowledge of the current issues characterising relations between diplomacy, international business, and international trade. Graduates of this programme will be equipped with the skills and knowledge required to pursue careers in diplomacy, negotiations and political analysis for government, international organisations, nongovernmental bodies, and business alike.

Security, Peacebuilding and Diplomacy

This programme explores the link between national and global security, and the role of peacebuilding in the development of multi-layered communities and nations. You will discover appropriate theories, concepts and methods associated with this area, whilst exploring the relationship between development and peacebuilding, civil-military relations, cyber security, and the wider global security context.   Graduates from this programme will be ready to pursue a career in diplomacy (traditional and otherwise), particularly in the areas of international security and peacebuilding, and in a wide variety of organisations and missions.

Risk, Governance and International Management

Our Risk, Governance and International Management MSc is run jointly by the Institute for International Management and the Institute for Diplomacy and International Governance. By studying this programme, you will develop a comprehensive understanding of the strategies used by multinational companies to manage risks arising from their environment.

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We would like to thank Professor Helen Drake for writing this blog and sharing further insight into our Institute for Diplomacy and International Governance.

To find out more about the Institute for Diplomacy and International Governance, please visit this web page.

If you would like to find out more about the student experience in our Institute for Diplomacy and International Governance, please take a look at this blog.

To find out more about our seven Institutes at Loughborough University London, please visit this web page.