MSc Political Thought

The MSc in Political Thought builds on SOAS’s wealth of regional expertise to offer a new approach to the study of political thought. It promotes the study of political theory as it is tightly linked to practices of global domination and resistance. The degree considers political theory as it emerges from and is linked to everyday political thinking, philosophical texts, or cultural production. Beyond the regions and traditions that have conventionally framed comparative work in political theory, this degree is unique in teaching students to see how concepts “travel” across the world as a means to examine both political thought and political practice in different times and spaces, with a focus on SOAS’s traditional regions: Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The degree programme introduces students to the key approaches, debates, and questions in the emerging sub-discipline of comparative political thought. At the same time, it provides thorough background in canonical political theory, albeit reconsidered through the political frameworks of imperialism, colonialism, and racial capitalism. Covering a range of thinkers, traditions and texts, it provides learning opportunities for students to compare ideas and values across regions and historical periods, and to place those ideas in global contexts.