Research Clusters

The Graduate Institute’s area of specialisation is the study of today’s main global challenges, be they international and transnational, with a particular focus on the world outside of Europe. Our research falls into twelve main clusters, ten of which are thematic and two – gender and governance – transversal.

		Conflict, Dispute Settlement and Peacebuilding Topics include, among others, war, violence and dispute resolution.
		Culture, Identity and Religion This cluster examines the governance of culture and multiculturalism, religion, nationalism, minority issues and political ideas.
		Democracy and Civil Society This cluster explores the plurality of democratic experiences and aspirations, social mobilisation, transnational movements and civil society.
		Development Policies and Practices This cluster includes research on development economics, cooperation and aid policies, socio-political change, inequality and poverty.
		Environment and Natural Resources A number of projects at the Institute focus on energy, resources, biodiversity, climate as well as environmental politics, security and protection.
		Finance and Development The Institute is well-known for its research in the areas of monetary policy, finance, banking, sovereign debt, capital movements and investment law.
		Gender Gender is here considered from a crosscutting perspective as, in addition to reproductive rights, postcolonial feminism and women’s labour, it is integrated in the study of international relations and development.
		Global Health This research area covers health-related issues, especially health governance.
		Governance While governance is often considered from a normative perspective, it also allows for crosscutting or multilevel analyses on various aspects of international relations such as organisations, targeted sanctions, international law theory, and transnational and local governance, as well as on topics such as urbanism, health or the environment.
		Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and Action The Institute is at the forefront of research in human rights, humanitarian law and action, and post-disaster management.
		Migration and Refugees The Institute conducts advanced research and policy-relevant expertise on the multifaceted causes and consequences of global migration, with the aim of fully grasping the complexities of mobility in a globalised world.
		Trade and Economic Integration This area includes, among other topics, trade and the world trade system, regional monetary integration and supply chains.