About Msc Political Thought in SOAS University of London

The degree considers political theory as it emerges from everyday political thinking, philosophical texts, and cultural production. Beyond the regions and traditions that have conventionally framed comparative work and 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 new subdiscipline 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, patriarchy and racial capitalism.   

The MSc Political Thought covers a range of thinkers, traditions and texts and provides learning opportunities for students to compare ideas and values across regions and historical periods, and to place those ideas in global context.