International Politics and Policy Track

IPP students learn from professors who are experts in international policy, theory, and research.  Major courses and electives include:

• International Relations
• Comparative Politics
• Foreign Policy: Theory and Practice
• Theory and Ethics of International Relations
• European Politics
• Politics of Developing Nations
• Ideologies and Revolutions
• International Law
• Area Studies (topics vary: g. Russia, Central Asia, South Asia, Latin America)
• Topics in International Studies (topics vary: g., International Family Policy, Radical Religious Movements, Religion in International Politics)

Students may also choose electives in International Economics, Comparative Economic Systems, Modern Chinese History, African History, and more. Students in the International Politics and Policy track can explore a specific global issue (e.g., globalization and global governance, religious conflict, human trafficking, economic development, family deterioration, resource scarcity, free trade, ethnic violence, genocide, environmental degradation, etc.) through researching primary and secondary sources. Students are then required to draft a policy report articulating a strategy for US involvement that would ultimately be forwarded to relevant government officials.

Christians today are becoming more aware and active internationally.  At Patrick Henry College we  encourage this trend and try to equip our students to apply biblical principles to the study of politics and connected affairs globally, thereby furthering God’s Kingdom throughout the world.  We aim to help our students assume positions of leadership at the forefront of international affairs and to shape global trends. 

Complementing the other tracks of the Government Department, the IPP track offers a rounded curriculum in international affairs.  Considering the interests of many PHC students and families, we give special emphasis to the study of religious and social affairs internationally, where we aspire to exercise leadership.  The machinery of global governance, such as the United Nations, European Union, and other intergovernmental and transnational organizations are subjects of both interest and scrutiny.  Without neglecting the traditional issues and questions of global politics, we have found that issues such as family integrity, religious freedom, marriage and sexuality are either ignored in their increasingly important international dimensions or are addressed largely within narrow ideological limitations.  It is our endeavor to remedy this deficiency and offer balanced perspectives on these trends. 

An IPP degree is awarded within the context of the Government major, but it can equip students to enter a variety of globally important professions, including diplomacy, law, business, government, missionary and humanitarian work, and work with intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. 

We aspire to make the Patrick Henry College IPP track into an important force for influencing the global environment. Because of our proximity to Washington, students in the IPP track work in apprenticeships as interns in important agencies and organizations with global reach.  In recent years the IPP program has organized for-credit study trips abroad, most recently to Poland, Hungary, and Russia. 

Our faculty are active globally as well, participating in and leading international research efforts such as the Institute of World Politics, the Global Home Education Conference, the World Congress of Families, Fulbright Scholars, Christian Concern (London), the Ordo Iuris Institute for Legal Culture (Warsaw), the European Parliament, the European Christian Political Movement, Russian Society of Political Scientists, and more.

We are very excited about the challenges and opportunities that are unfolding before us internationally, and we hope and pray that you will join us to advance God’s work in many lands.