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Master of Arts in Diplomacy

Make Everyone Feel Involved

Diplomacy is an art. Diplomats should be equipped with knowledge, culture, delicacy and efficiency in negotiation skills and enabled to help facilitate communication and resolve possible disputes and challenges. It is crucial to be skillful. To be well equipped with tactical and operational knowledge, hold efficiency in analysis and policy orientation; to have ethics and abide by morality and national and international standards. Be an explored and a trader, be visionary and become a leader. Enable critical thinking which will lead to success stories. Make dreams come true by following a degree which leads you to an international career. A global career which starts with the beginning of your studies at the College of Security and Global Studies (CSGS).

  • To offer quality curricula that cover the essential facets of diplomacy.
  • To provide adequate supporting services to enhance the process of education.
  • To empower diplomats (current, potential and future) in civil society, business and government with the necessary diplomatic skills to be successful.
  • To think critically, respect diversity and communicate effectively.
  • The ability to face the challenges of the 21st century – a society that is informed, entertained, persuaded and shaped by international communications.
  • To introduce practical skills, such as diplomatic report writing, language analysis, negotiation and communication with media.
  • Enable students to identify and cope with the sources of conflicts at the individual, organizational and political level.
  1. Coherently synthesize and summarize knowledge of the field of diplomacy through effective analytical inquiry of current and past diplomatic successes and failures.
  2. Compose and present effective communications in written and oral form demonstrating critical and discriminatory thinking skills across the curriculum
  3. Formulate innovative complex ideas to generate new solutions to long term diplomatic concerns and present this ability through formal recommendations in policy papers and presentations relative to the field.
  4. Analyze Diplomatic issues by applying critical thinking to construct problem solving solutions based on limited information.
  5. Design and lead (in simulation scenarios) a diplomatic team composed of appropriate skilled individuals to successfully negotiate a desired outcome to diplomatic issues.
  6. Apply ethical and culturally sensitive solutions to a variety of diplomatic concerns in written and oral communications.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

For further information, please click here

ACCREDITATION

The American University in the Emirates is licensed by the UAE Ministry of Education - Commission for Academic Accreditation | caa.ae

PROGRAM STRUCTURE

36 Credit Hours

Bridging Courses
Courses (2)
Credit Hours (4)
Core Course
Courses (4)
Credit Hours (12)
Elective Courses
Courses (6)
Credit Hours (18)
Thesis
Courses (1)
Credit Hours (6)

FEE STRUCTURE

  • Tuition (One Semester)

    Approx. 40,000 AED
    One academic year is two semesters

  • Admission (One Time)

    3,500 AED

Last Updated on May 20, 2022

BRIDGING COURSES

2 COURSES | 4 CREDIT HOURS

This course examines the evolution of the international relations since WWII with emphasis on the Middle East. Although the victors of the war organized a new international system, the Cold War (1947-1990) represented a major threat on the world peace. The Middle East was not immune to the tensions between the two superpowers.

This class focuses on the current world affairs. It combines structural (such as demographics or environment) and conjunctural (ongoing tensions and conflicts) issues. Case studies will be selected by the instructor.

CORE COURSES

4 COURSES | 12 CREDIT HOURS

This course acquaints graduate students with negotiation, mediation, and good offices techniques in diverse settings. Attention is given to different styles of negotiation, different phases in the negotiation process, and to the negotiating environment. This course aims to develop conflict resolution theory, peacekeeping and peace building. It focuses on threats, opportunities and strategies that cover the many dimensions of change since the end of the cold war. In addition, this course discusses the importance of communication skills, persuasion, and cultural differences.

This course focuses on Gulf states (UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait) with regards to major issues in the world, mainly Oil, Gas, the situation in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, terrorism, relation with the U.S, the E.U, China and Russia; ties with Iran, and the dynamics of the GCC.

This course enable students to comprehend and become critically aware of the specific scientific methods, concepts and theories in their field of studies. This course provides students with advance skills to design, conduct and publish research projects that address current challenges to international and national security, yet maintain standards of scientific inquiry. Upon completing the course students will be able to identify and implement proper ways to address and conduct research in the field of study and prepare them to publish the results of scientific inquiry in the form of MA level research project or article; prepare a comprehensive research project that bridges theoretical and academic perspectives.

This is a theoretical course where students will learn about various types, forms, evolutions, historical roots and underpinnings of different theories with analyzing issues and events of global politics. Theories of International Relations explains all major theories used in IR; both modern and contemporary. Students will debate and discuss the methods, approaches, paradigms in IR theory and their use and applications in understanding foreign policy, global conflict, wars on terrorism, search for peace and so on.

ELECTIVE COURSES

CHOOSE SIX COURSES | 18 CREDIT HOURS

Students are free to select six courses (18 credits hours) from the following courses.

This course examines the communication processes involved when individuals or groups from different cultures or subcultures attempt to interact. The course addresses possible sources of misunderstandings in intercultural communication, (e.g., time/space factors, linguistic and nonverbal factors, and ethnocentric communication) along with communication problems encountered by persons engaged in personal or professional intercultural contacts. The course also analyzes the communication concepts through theoretical and methodological tools in order to develop an intellectual and ethically informed sense of self-awareness in relation to the outside world. Given the professional orientation and career specialization of most students in the College of Media and Mass Communication towards either Diplomacy, or Media, or Radio and TV, this course puts special emphasis on a combination of everyday as well as workplace applicability of its concepts and insights. During and ever increasingly towards the end of this course, students should feel enabled and empowered to handle situations, issues and challenges of intercultural communication and interaction on a personal and group level, and in all kinds of straightforward as well as complex settings. This practical and professional focus accounts for some slightly more “managerial” choice of material and readings (for instance the second main textbook used). To provide humanistic, cultural and communicative depth and breadth, literature and film elements are supplied in the classroom, further readings, and audiovisuals.

This course examines the different aspects of International Law and its application in Diplomacy. It will reflect on the primary issues of public International Law, inclusive of the decision-making process within the United Nations (UN). It will unravel an understanding of what is required of diplomats for their effective participation in developing principles. The course also introduces students to international criminal tribunals, international human rights, current challenges to human rights, nature of state sovereignty and protection of human rights. It will also examine the significance of advocating inter-regional, national, and international ideas at international forums.

This course examines the various facets of the dynamics of Intelligence and National Security. It investigates the evolution of intelligence and the international intelligence community. It will provide adequate knowledge about the relationship between military force, international security, military organizations and diplomacy. It also focuses on international relations issues of importance, such as: nuclear politics, war, secret intelligence, economic integration and political fragmentation. This political development has been accompanied by civil war, terrorism, use of force, instability, and occupation. All of these mentioned variables play an important role in shaping international relations. This course will also deal with diplomacy and statecraft emphasizing economic, demographic and environmental issues.

This graduate level course on International Political Economy asses various aspects and politics of international economic relations at the global level and their interactions. Students will learn, debate, discuss and critically analyze major theories and perspectives used in the field as well as the issues and challenges of international trade, finance and development. The course will also debate and analyze such important topics as foreign aid, foreign debt, international finance, foreign direct investment, MNCs as well as issues and challenges of global financial crisis and developmental issues. Furthermore, it will analyze the issues and challenges related to international trade, trade theories, trade finance. We will explore and examine the causes and reasons of financial crises in world economy, their causes and devastating impacts particularly on developing countries. Issues like, foreign investments, international monetary affairs, foreign aid, globalization, and protection of environment will also be debated and analyzed in the class.

This is course will introduce students with laws, principles, philosophies and ideologies of the creations of multiple organizations worldwide and their broader roles and impacts in world politics. This course will explore and analyze international and regional organizations, their process of formations, goals, objectives and activities from liberal institutionalist perspectives. The roles and places of regional and international organizations in resolving global and regional conflicts will also be analyzed in the course. The course will deal with all types and levels of organizations, global, regional, economic, political, security, environmental and so on. Issues and questions of authority, enforcement and legitimacy of international and regional organizations will also be discussed and analyzed here. International and regional organizations will be studied, explained and analyzed from historical, ideological and comparative perspectives.

This course has both theoretical as well as practical orientations where students will learn, debate, discuss and analyze the history of diplomacy, its emergence, overtime growth and change and evolution in process and practices. Students will learn about various types and stages of diplomacy; ancient, medieval and modern and their respective values, characteristics, protocols and practices. A course will emphasize on various laws, charters, agreements, documents, and protocols that confirmed and legalized many of the rules, regulations and procedures that guide the activities of today’s diplomats. The ever-changing nature of diplomatic protocols, ceremonial and etiquette will also be discussed, debated and practiced in the class so that students will have practical experience and will be familiar with diplomatic culture, values and traditions of different peoples and nations. The trends of future directions in diplomacy and diplomatic services will also be discussed and debated in the class.

This is a theoretical course were the students will study, debate, discuss and analyze the new and emerging phenomena of economic aspects of diplomacy which is qualitatively different from traditional diplomacy. It documents the transformation of economic diplomacy in the 1990s and early 2000s in response to the end of the Cold War, the advance of globalization and the growing influence of non-state actors like private business and civil society. This course debate and analyze the historical, philosophical as well practical roots and causes for the emergence of the filed. The focus will be on the NICs and other south-East Asian countries that spearheaded this changes and revolutions which eventually adopted by other countries with various degrees and intensity. It Discusses some major powerful organizations and Blocks, like the G-7, G-20, EU, BRICS, ASEAN, AU and other, shifting from political, security to economy, trade and investments.

This course is an exploration of foreign policy processes, actors, theories and cases. In doing so, the primary purpose of this course is to introduce students to the skills associated with foreign policy analysis and evaluation. Theories and analytical applied in this course are derived from the classical “levels of analysis” and empirical approaches to analysis. The course will include a variety of theoretical and policy discussions which shall aim to prepare the student for the case study method. In best of cases, students will be placed in decision-making situations drawn from historical events. These cases will enable students to learn about decision-making in foreign policy and to understand the pressure that they will be exposed to them when in leading positions.

This class intends to explain what public diplomacy is and to equip the students with the soft skills that they would need in this field. The main objective of this course is to influence the main state and non-state actors to serve one state’s interests but the ways to achieve this goal are diverse. The combination of actors, let alone the public opinions, the diversity of means from the traditional exchanges between diplomats to the new technologies allows to create formal and informal networks. Against changing backdrops, the choice of actors and means determines strategies that could be analyzed and assessed.

This course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the crucial role of energy in our society, contrasting benefits and drawbacks of each main energy source, and the environmental, social and economic aspects of energy use especially alternative energy sources, with the overall aim to preserve the energy needs and protect our environment, while discussing the energy policies and strategies, and the environmental and sustainability implications from renewable to non-renewable forms of energy. As for environmental sustainability, basic principles of ecosystem ecology will be developed, such as factors that control fluxes and stocks of carbon, water and nutrients within terrestrial ecosystems, up to human-induced climate change. The course will enable students to gain experience in the research and analysis of specific cases they select for more detailed study. Students will participate in discussion of issues raised from the readings and other resources. The course analyzes the current main energy and sustainability concepts and ideas through theoretical and methodological tools to develop an ability to understand and practically handle them in the outside world. Given the professional orientation and career specialization of most students in the College of Media and Mass Communication towards either Diplomacy, or Media, or Radio and TV, this course puts special emphasis on a combination of everyday as well as workplace applicability of energy and sustainability concepts and insights. During and ever increasingly towards the end of this course, students should feel enabled and empowered to handle situations, issues and challenges of energy and sustainability analysis and application on a personal and group level, and in all kinds of straightforward as well as complex settings. For practical purposes, and to prepare the students for scholarly engagement with energy and sustainability issues, and to demonstrate that those issues occur on a daily basis in a vast variety of situations and scenarios, the educational resources and reading material contain many recent news articles

This course studies the political systems of Nation States, providing the opportunity to examine the features of individual political systems and to investigate the similarities and differences among political systems. Comparative Politics attempts to analyze and explain its findings through the methods of comparative study.

This course provides students with a required and desirable cultural background for any career in diplomacy or international organizations, with a specific focus on sources and knowledge directly related to the practice and daily life of a cultural diplomacy. For instance, historical or cultural contexts are chosen for immediate diplomatic relevance (such as the famous 1533 portrait of historical, real-life diplomats in Holbein’s The Ambassadors. Towards the end of this course, students shall handle references of cultural life as far as directly related to their professional demands and challenges in an intelligible, convincing and if possible even inspiring way, respecting the need and often the wish of representatives from other nations and cultures to engage with diplomats not only on an officiously professional but also cultural personal level.

This course acquaints students with the ethical questions involved in areas of conflict, resource distribution, trade, human rights, peace, and conflict resolution in the international context. The course will enable students to gain experience in the research and analysis of specific cases they select for more detailed study. Students will also participate in discussion of issues raised from the readings and other resources. This course analyzes the current and historical main ethical concepts and ideas through theoretical and methodological tools in order to develop an intellectual and ethically informed sense of self-awareness in relation to the outside world.

This is a specialized and open-ended course where the topics and subject areas for debate and discussion will be mainly on the basis of students’ interests and priorities as well as the Instructor’s expertise and specializations. Although a list of special topics on diplomacy are listed in the course, those may be changed and modified depending on the instructor and students. This course will also focus on inviting special guests in areas of diplomacy and other related fields and learn from their expertise and field experiences. The main goals and objectives of the course are to provide students with knowledge and experience on specific issues and events of diplomacy, skills and competence in generalizing the finding of those cases and finally to use and implement them.

THESIS

6 CREDIT HOURS

The Master's thesis in Diplomacy functions as the closing part of the study. It is meant to stimulate students in acquiring and in-depth knowledge and insight in a specific subject of interest to the students. The emphasis lies in the critical choice of method, in the creation of a relevant theoretical frame of reference, and in the extensive analysis of the theoretical and empirical material in which the students will contribute to the literature in a chosen field of interest. The methodology discussions must be clearly connected to the chosen area and well-integrated as a harmonized unity. The length of the Master's thesis typically ranges from 40 to 60 pages. An evaluation and assessment of the MA thesis will be conducted by the concerned supervisor or by another member of the program faculties. The thesis should be marked by the supervisor and reviewed by the external examiners.

ATTENDANCE

WEEKEND CLASSES

Course A | Sat–Sun | 9:00 am –12:00 pm
Course B | Sat –Sun | 2:00 pm –5:00 pm
If one course is registered, one timing would be selected

JOINING THE PROGRAM

Students can join anytime during the year and at the beginning of any block.

September

FALL SEMESTER

JANUARY

SPRING SEMESTER

MAY

SUMMER SEMESTER

RECOMMENDED STUDY PLAN

MAD ADVISORY BOARD

Name Affiliation Rationale
HE Vasil Sikharulidze Chairman of the Atlantic Council of Georgia Former Minister of Defense & Ambassador of Georgia to the US
HE Alexandros Mallias Author Former Ambassador of Greece to the US
Admiral (ret). Alexandros Diakopoulos Managing Director for Greek Development and Humanitarian Aid 1st National Security Advisor of Greece
Mr. Imad Oubiri Business Development Expert Investment Promotion Director - RAK Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Mrs. Sarah AlMaeenah PR Office – UAE Parliament Alumnus

THESIS TRACK

The MA will be specialized based on the thesis topic | extra letter will be provided

THESIS SPECIALIZATION

  • Diplomacy
  • Negotiations
  • Protocol & Negotiations
  • Future Diplomacy
  • Sustainability
  • Peace and Conflict Resolution

  • Accords
  • War negotiations
  • International Organizations
  • National Diplomacy
  • Sustainability policy
  • Cyber-Diplomacy

COURSE TRACK

The thesis can be replaced by two elective courses.

ALUMNI

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Dr. Kleanthis Kyriakidis

Assistant Professor

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