King's College London

Get an unrivalled insight into contemporary global affairs by studying international law alongside peace and security, and build policy and analytical skills.

The MA in Peace, Security and International Law is a unique master’s programme that focuses on the role, power, and limits of international law in relation to contemporary conflict. By integrating the study of international politics, strategy and international law, it provides an essential lens for understanding contemporary global affairs.

You’ll learn from the world-leading academic expertise of the Department of War Studies to develop a solid knowledge of the role of international law in global affairs. You’ll also build a range of competencies, including policy and situation analysis expertise

During your MA in Peace, Security and International Law, you’ll be based within the Department of War Studies, which is one of the only academic departments in the world to focus solely on the complexities of conflict and security. This means you’ll have the opportunity to explore the role of international law in relation to subjects such as the history and evolution of war and grand strategy, changing military technology and its impact on conflict and security, migration, and diplomacy.

Your Peace, Security and International Law MA has just one required module, which focuses on law and conflict in international society. You’ll learn about the relationship between international law, international relations, international politics, ethics and strategies and use case studies to apply this knowledge.

In this module, you’ll study topics such as the use of force, genocide and war crimes, humanitarian intervention, nuclear weapons, terrorism, forced displacement, environmental degradation, cyber security and artificial intelligence, gender justice and sustainable development. You’ll also learn more about how international law is made, how disputes are settled and how the UN and international courts and tribunals work.

This master’s in peace, security and international law has a real focus on developing your professional skills. This means that in your required module, you’ll learn how to write a policy brief or a policy report and complete an assignment that reflects a real-world work example, which you can put in your professional portfolio.

You’ll also get to hear from a wide variety of practitioners, who will be invited to speak and share their experience and expertise with you. In previous years, guests from the UN, the Red Cross, and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office have visited to speak with students on the Peace, Security, and International Law MA.

The rest of the master’s will be shaped by your interests from a diverse list of optional modules. For example, you may choose to blend a study of international law and war with sanctions and economic statecraft, or you might complement a module on violence in civil wars with another in understanding deterrence in theory and practice. Alternatively, you could combine a module in transitional justice and international criminal law with one in gender, international politics and security, and beyond.

Your MA will culminate in a compulsory dissertation, for which you’ll conduct your own piece of research and critical analysis.

There are plenty of extracurricular opportunities to enhance your education and network with leading practitioners. For example, alumni are often invited back to speak and meet with current students. The department’s lecture series regularly draws a list of impressive speakers, with the Advisor to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on gender persecution discussing gender persecution in Afghanistan speaking in early 2025.