Governance, Diplomacy and International Organizations

The Governance, Diplomacy, and International Organizations career track provides students with the skills and training needed to understand interactions between states, the role of leaders and leadership within international and transnational organizations, and the analysis of these behaviors.

Nation-states remain the foundation of the international system, even as the influence of non-state actors on international affairs, including corporations and armed opposition groups, grows. In order to understand international policy, future policymakers must comprehend the state’s role and the power and influence of non-state actors. Diplomacy and policy analysis remain key, germane competencies.

Drawing on the Maxwell School’s long history of leadership training and international policy, students learn from faculty who are recognized experts in their fields. The curriculum includes courses on negotiation and conflict resolution, cultural awareness, political leadership, and organizational management. Other important skills taught include diplomacy and substantive knowledge of regions and inter-state relations.

Professor Margaret (Peg) Hermann helped pioneer the field of political psychology and is one of the world's leading authorities on the psychology of political leadership. The empirical method she developed is used by analysts around the globe to anticipate how political elites and heads of state are likely to respond to different scenarios—and, in turn, urge their governments to act.

James Steinberg

~ Peg Hermann

Professor, Political Science
Director, Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs


Faculty

Public Administration and International Affairs Faculty

Maxwell and SU College of Law Faculty

  • Margaret Hermann, Advisor (PSC)
  • Lamis Abdelaaty (PSC) 
  • Frederick Carriere (PSC)
  • Matthew Cleary (PSC)
  • Miriam Elman (PSC) 
  • Azra Hromadzic (ANT)
  • Seth Jolly (PSC)
  • Audie Klotz (PSC)
  • Devashish Mitra (ECN)
  • Glyn Morgan (PSC)
  • Robert Rubinstein (ANT)
  • Yuksel Sezgin (PSC)
  • James Steinberg (MAX)
  • Cora True-Frost (LAW)
  • Simon Weschle (PSC)

Core Course Recommendations

Governance and diplomatic work requires professionals who can operate at the intergovernmental or international organizational level, understand the importance of macroeconomics in national strategy and as diplomatic leverage, and are versed in a broad range of research methodologies.

As such, students are encouraged to consider the following classes for their core requirements:

  • Economics: PAI 720: Principles of Economics.
  • Management of Programs and Staff: PAI 762: Challenges of International Management and Leadership.
  • Research Design and Evaluation: PAI 705:  Research Design for IR Practitioners.
  • Signature Course: HST 645: History of International Relations or PSC 783: Comparative Foreign Policy.

Governance, Diplomacy and International Organizations Course Offerings

ANT 624            Negotiation: Theory and Practice
ANT 649            World Heritage Sites
LAW 728           International and EU Human Rights Law
LAW 778           International Human Rights
PAI 601             Fundamentals of Conflict Studies
PAI 700             U.S. – Mexico Relations
PAI 700             Who Will Rule the 21st Century?*
PAI 702             Current Policy Issues in U.S.-Latin America Relations
PAI 711              Practicum in International Organizations
PAI 713              Governance and Global Civil Society
PAI 715              International Trade and Economic Negotiation*
PAI 715              Statecraft and Smart Power*
PAI 718              U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy
PAI 719              Fundamentals of Post-Conflict Reconstruction
PAI 764              UN Organizations: Managing for Change
PSC 681            Comparative State-Society Relations
PSC 684            International Relations of the Middle East
PSC 700            Comparative Institutions
PSC 752            International Law and Organizations
PSC 756            Politics of the European Union
PSC 758       Global Migration
PSC 788            Political Leadership

(* taught in the Maxwell-in-DC program)

Alumni Careers 

Visit the Palmer Center for Career Development's Career Field Guides for more information about Careers associated with the Governance, Diplomacy and International Organizations Career Track.    

National Civil Service

Senior Officer, Alberta Ministry of International and Intergovernmental Relations
Democracy and Governance Officer, U.S. Agency for International Development
Deputy Director General, Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

International Civil Service

Speechwriter, United Nations General Assembly
Program Office, United Nations Institute for Training and Research