Security, Conflict and Justice

Page contents

• Programme overview
• Entry requirements
• Staff research interests

Programme overview

Security, Conflict and Justice is a new interdisciplinary pathway that recognises that traditional approaches to security studies must now be complemented with new perspectives of issues more widely, in order to develop better strategies for resolving conflicts and securing social justice.

This programme is one of five South West Doctoral Training Centre (SWDTC) interdisciplinary pathways that are delivered in partnership with the Universities of Bath and Exeter.

Violence has, for the most part, shifted from organised inter-state war to protracted warfare fought by irregular units and local militias. Weak states are prone to collapsing, either by the fragmentation of authority, or by external intervention. Climate change, forced migration, gender-based violence, radicalisation, humanitarian emergencies, terrorism, WMD proliferation, have all, to varying degrees, been securitised by states, intergovernmental institutions, and by nongovernmental organisations. The broadening of the global security agenda has to date not been accompanied by an increase in the capacity of local, regional, and global actors to respond to these new challenges. What is now required is the development of new theoretical and empirical research on security governance. A vital ingredient in addressing the complex agenda of security governance is an interdisciplinary pooling of knowledge and expertise that draws together sociological and socio-legal research on human rights, gender, violence and ethnopolitics; area studies expertise on language, culture and practice; and political and legal research on sovereignty, institutions and intervention.

The pathway will be of interest to those with backgrounds in politics, economics, geography, sociology, law, history, international relations, policy studies, women's studies, development studies and area studies.

Research groups

The Security, Conflict and Justice pathway works with research groups and centres across the Universities of Bristol, Bath and Exeter.

You can find further information on some of our research groups and staff at the School for Policy Studies Research website.

Key research interests

All students have two supervisors from different disciplinary perspectives on Security, Conflict and Justice. Students proposing cross-institutional supervision are particularly encouraged. Your supervisors convene joint meetings on a regular basis, and will attend the annual one-day workshop for all pathway students.

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Entry requirements

A Masters qualification with appropriate research training, or equivalent.

For information on international equivalent qualifications, please see our International Office website.

Admissions statement

Read the programme admissions statement for important information on entry requirements, the application process and supporting documents required.

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Key research interests

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