Based within Queen Mary's School of Politics and International Relations, the Research Group on International Political Sociology (RGIPS) is a hub of researchers leading the growing field of International Political Sociology. They established and currently lead the transnational research network DoingIPS.
Find out more about our past and current activities
It is becoming increasingly evident in the present world that humans, animals, plants, and geological and atmospheric processes are intertwined. With people constantly on the move, often crossing borders and boundaries, it is also increasingly difficult to differentiate between local and global phenomena. The conventional divisions between state and society, human and nature, and the international and the national are no longer sufficient to address the complex challenges of today's world. International Political Sociology (IPS) offers alternative approaches to world politics that allow us to engage with these challenges creatively. One of the primary goals is to move beyond critique and embrace the resourcefulness of knowledge creation across International Relations, Political Science, and Sociology.
As members of the DoingIPS network, researchers within RGIPS are collaborating with Brazilian, Dutch, and Belgian IPS research networks alongside other partners. Researchers at Queen Mary also co-founded the Standing Section Doing International Political Sociology of the European International Studies Association in partnership with IPS Scholars from the Pontifical Catholic University Rio de Janeiro.
At Queen Mary, RGIPS works to establish an interdisciplinary, sociologically robust research profile unique to politics and international relations. It is also at the forefront of building sociology as a separate disciplinary area of research and teaching within the School of Politics and International Relations. It fosters collaborations, organises public and academic events, develops research programmes and shapes IPS globally.