School of Government and International Affairs - Durham University

We have been ranked 85th in the QS World University Rankings 2027, up nine places from last year, and in the world top 50 for Employer Reputation🎉

Professor Karen O’Brien, our Vice-Chancellor and Warden, said: “To rise nine places to 85th in the QS World University Rankings is a tremendous achievement, in an outstanding year for Durham University.

“That employers rank us among the world’s top 50 universities is particularly important for our students and graduates, indicating the exceptional value that a Durham degree holds in equipping students for work and preparing them for career success.”

The QS World University Rankings are widely acknowledged as the most influential university rankings globally.

Read more: www.durham.ac.uk/discover/qs-world-university-rankings/

In the post-teaching months of May and June, our staff members are busy marking, writing, and attending/organising exciting research events. ✨ There will be a couple of them happening across SGIA in the coming weeks. Here starting with the very first "Political Behaviour Workshop" at Durham University, organised by the Centre for Institutions and Political Behaviour (CIPB) at SGIA, which took place on Monday 11 May. 👏🏻
Scholars visiting from IE University, Michigan State University, ETH Zürich, LSE, and Università Bocconi attended the event. We had a great line-up of international and Durham-based scholars covering issues ranging from commercial governance and migration policy to public goods provision and bureaucratic responsiveness.

🎉Congratulations to SGIA researchers David Caldwell, Gidon Cohen and Nick Vivyan on winning the Environmental Politics Article of the Year 2025! 🎉

Their award-winning paper is titled 'Long-run trends in partisan polarization of climate policy-relevant attitudes across countries’.

From the editorial team: "This paper makes an important contribution by showing how the U.S. compares with its cross-national peers and how patterns of polarization have changed over time. Drawing on four ISSP Environment modules from 1993 to 2020, the paper provides a valuable over-time assessment of public opinion and highlights the gradual erosion of consensus around climate politics. It is a timely, rigorous, and highly relevant study that [is expected to] quickly become an important reference in the field."

This afternoon we had the pleasure of hosting a talk by Ilias Alami on their award-winning book The Spectre of State Capitalism (co-authored with Adam Dixon). Thanks for a stimulating discussion! 📚👏🏻

As a research-intensive department, our faculty members are at the forefront of their fields, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and shaping important debates. This is a little round-up of our colleagues' latest papers published in March. 📚💡

From Pakistan’s bustling metropolitan life to a small city in the North East of England that is Durham, our undergraduate student Ilsa shares her journey of moving continents, finding her place at SGIA, and building a life far from home. A really thoughtful reflection on belonging, independence, and student life in Durham. Read her blog post via links in bio. ✨📖

We are pleased to share that we have been ranked 79th in the world for Politics and International Studies in the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject. 🎉✨
Being placed within the global top 100 highlights our continued commitment to high-quality research, thoughtful teaching, and meaningful engagement with the political issues shaping our world today. A huge thank you to our entire community for making this happen.