The Master of Arts in International Relations with specialization on peace and development provides for an advanced education in the discipline. This program differs from the Master of Arts in International Relations in diplomacy because it does specialize more on transnational relations and developmental issues.

The MA IR Peace and Development is based on national and international standards of the Cambodian National Qualifications Framework of Higher Education (CNQF 2014) and guidelines of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoeYS), Department of Higher Education (DHE 2018).

The MA program offers advanced courses in the discipline of international relations and specialized courses in peace and development. MA students are mentored during their study by a multicultural academic team of faculty members, visiting professors and practitioners in the field of international relations. Professors come from Cambodia, the Philippines, Europe and the United States. Since 2003, the MA program has greatly facilitated our student’s academic and professional careers in various occupations in Cambodia and overseas.

Master of Arts in International Relations:  Peace and Development*

*NOTE: Courses in bold letters are new FSSIR courses and explained in the course description.

Course Description

IR 500             Introduction to International Relations

The course introduces into the study of international relations. Fundamentals of international relations are explained, starting with theories of international relations and politics, actors in international relations including states, non-governmental and governmental organizations, the evolution of the international system and contemporary problems in international relations.

LAW 502         Introduction to International Law and Human Rights Law

This course deals with the body of law known as International Law or sometimes ‘Public International Law’, as distinct from Private International Law. More generally, this course serves as a basic introduction to the rules, procedures, institutions and actors that are involved in the development, enforcement and adjudication of public international law. The course also cover the nature and sources of international law; the role and influence of states, non-governmental organizations and international organizations; the law of treaties; customary international law; jurisdiction and immunities; the implication and impact of international law on Cambodian legal system. Because international law today is more complex and more interesting than at any time in history, and given a limited credit hours, the course will also offer a brief survey of specific and contemporary fields within international law   –  for  example,   human  rights,  laws  of  war,  international  criminal  law  and  international environmental law. Students are encouraged to think and discuss critically about legal implications of domestic and international politics and human rights.

NATS 510        Global Environment Awareness

This course introduces students to concepts and theories related to world environment. It discusses a natural process of an ecological system, economic and social development in equilibrium to environmental conditions. Importantly, it brings updates about human activities and environmental pollution causing major problems from draught, inundation, desertification, contaminated soil, air and water to ozone depletion. The course also raises awareness of essence in environmental preservation through various debates about climate change, natural resource protection and conservation and sustainable development from an environmental perspective.

ECON 515       Fundamentals of Economics

This course, in its traditional sense, does not deal with economic issues. It focuses on the principles of economics necessitated for practical applications in the economics. The course also provides basic knowledge in Microeconomics and Macroeconomics used as economic tools of analysis. This is to be accomplished by raising certain key problems or issues relevant to the economics principles, teaching the tools necessary for analysis, and finally applying these tools to analyze the problems.

RESR 525        Research Methodology

This course targets at offering skills and techniques in research to the course followers. The major themes with regard to the course include problem statement development, hypothesis formulation and the practical aspects of research methods to attain the intended and desired research outcomes. It, of course, looks into research proposal, a research scheme and literature review. Essentially, it discusses the citation of documents or the ways to tell the sources of information, surveys, interviews and questionnaires. Moreover, it introduces a comparative aspect of research methods from social discipline to science and business on the basis of the use of the distinctive use of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Ultimately, the course members are expected to be able to develop their own themes and conduct the research for the class, together with the presentation of the written report from research findings.

MGT 570         Negotiations and Conflict Resolution

This interdisciplinary course examines various formal and informal methods of conflict resolution, which are often used in business, law, diplomacy, politics, and in everyday life. The course also focuses on developing effective strategies and techniques in negotiation for reaching different agreements. It emphasizes economic, cultural, psychological, and ethical areas essential to conflict resolution and negotiation.  The course compares and contrasts the traditional methods and styles of conflict resolution used in Cambodian society with the methods and styles commonly used in Western countries.

IR 525             Research Methods and Analysis in International Relations

The course introduces into major research methods in international relations. This includes quantitative, qualitative and mixed research methods in social science relevant for the study of international relations. Participants are familiarized with research designs and contemporary research methods popular in international relations.

MGT 530         Governance, Management and Leadership Dynamics

This is an upper level course of management and leadership, which looks at how managers and leaders behave and make a decision to deal with an organizational change and a crisis situation. Students will be expected to actively participate in the debate on studies relevant to the themes such as advanced management skills, leadership dynamics and leadership styles. The subtheme on Effective Governance is also introduced for the course followers in order for them to increase an understanding about responsibility, decision making and accountability in the field of management and leadership. A combination of readings and class discussions with hands-on exercises will familiarize students with the variety of approaches one might take to management and leadership. To advance the students’ knowledge in the discipline, case studies on corporations, business firms and public institutions are incorporated into the course.

POL 530          Fundamental Theories of International Relations

The course will describe main theories of international relations and discuss strengths and weaknesses of these theories. Another focus of the course is the relevance (or lack thereof) of such theories in the era of globalization and rapidly changing relations among states and non-state actors.

POL 533          Global Problems and Policies

The course provides a global perspective on international relations by examining the contemporary process of globalization, global problems and policies. The course will first introduce into the process of globalization, which will be explained as a process of political, economic and social globalization. International security, economic development, the global environment and humanitarianism are identified as major global problems challenging the international community. Global policies have been developed to respond to those global problems and will be discussed with comprehensive examples.

LAW 513         International Law

This course provides students with an introduction to law in its global context in this age of trans-national and inter-jurisdictional practice, with particular focus on public international law and its significance to Australian law. Additionally, private international law and comparative law will be covered and the nature and objectives of these areas highlighted and distinguished. The course commences with an introduction to the development and nature of public international law as well as distinctive elements of international legal reasoning. It then addresses key features of international law, with topics chosen from: the sources of international law with emphasis on customary international law and the law of treaties; adjudication and enforcement of international law; the structure of the international community and participants in the international legal system; the peaceful settlement of international disputes; state responsibility; jurisdiction and immunity; international maritime law and the law of the sea; the use of force; international human rights; the law of armed conflict and International Criminal Law.

POL 540          Seminar in Comparative Politics

The course is an interdisciplinary seminar with Political Science MA students elaborating on comparative politics questions from a political science and international relations perspective. Participants are familiarized with major political systems in Asia and the West in comparative perspective including past and present authoritarian, totalitarian or semi-democratic and democratic political systems. The course aims to deepen participants understanding of types of political systems (classifications), respective political processes (political continuity and change) and structures (government systems, party systems, etc.) and elaborates on political change, political transitions and conflict in these political systems.

IR 556             International Political Economy

The course introduces to international political economy by examining the contemporary international economic system including the trading- and currency system, by elaborating on classical and contemporary theories of international political economy including liberalism, mercantilism and neo-Marxism, and by providing an overview of the historical evolution of the international economic system (focus on the post-World War II developments) and contemporary international economic problems. Objective of the course is to provide participants a better understanding of the economic dimension of development and the role which the international economic system plays for economic development.

POL 556          The United Nations System: Missions and Achievements

The course provides a comprehensive overview over the United Nations, its mission and achievements. The course will elaborate first on the UN system and its five principal organs focusing on the question how those institutions have evolved and what role they play in the contemporary international system.

POL 589          Seminar in War and Peace

The course examines first sources of war and conflict, historically and at the present. A comparative register of such conflicts is established. The course then examines various forms of peace and the degree to which peace can be established after conflict, or how a lasting peace can be built in order to prevent conflicts from breaking out in the first place. The theoretical framework for the seminar is peace and conflict studies. As a seminar, the course relies heavily on student research and reports in the context of pro-active analytical work by the students.

MIR 597         Comprehensive Examination

                        Complete two courses prior to written and oral comprehensive exams

MIR 598         Project Report

MIR 599         Thesis