Areas of interests (Research Subjects) offered in Portuguese Language

International Politics
International politics is the PGPIR-UFU's primary area of research. The areas of study are as follows:

1. Foreign Policy and International Institutions

This field of study will explore the complexities and interdependencies of issues related to foreign policy and international organizations. It will examine a number of topics, including international relations, subnational governments' involvement in international affairs, international mobilization and policy formulation actors, preferences, and strategies, and national positions within international regimes and negotiations. It will also look at various kinds of international governance as well as the customs and changes in formal and informal foreign policy.

Similarly, studies in this field will focus on hemispheric and regional integration or cooperation processes, as well as arguments about the nature, scope, and development of multilateral institutions and international criminal courts and human rights protection networks.

2. International Security

The International Security research focus will give priority to theoretically grounded analyses, drawing from critical theoretical approaches within International Relations, particularly influenced by constructivist, post-structuralist, and post-colonialist frameworks, as well as from conventional perspectives like realism in debates about Strategic Studies. Research initiatives and fields falling under this umbrella will mostly deal with debates about polarization in the international system, how to settle disputes within states, peacekeeping missions, the security and defense strategies of superpowers and developing countries, and problems like terrorism and the spread of WMDs.

3. International Political Economy

This field of study aims to investigate interstate dynamics and the complexities of global economic interdependence, accounting for a range of social, political, and economic factors that impact global production, exchange, and distribution systems and, in turn, influence states' international actions on a multitude of fronts. Understanding the rivalry between governments for capital and how it affects trade, finance, and investment relations is the goal. Examining the tactics used in international economic discussions and multilateral forums is part of this.