Confronting Emerging Challenges to the International Order (Ref: 2026/LUL/IDIA)

About the Project

Research is at the heart of the Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs. We bring interdisciplinary and innovative thinking to real-world, international problems. Our research networks include academics from around the world as well as professionals working outside of academia.

Our London campus, with its entrepreneurial emphasis, facilitates easy access to decision makers and practitioners of all kinds and is home to Loughborough University’s think tank, the Policy Unit, that offers many connections to our most important stakeholders. If you are interested in addressing complex, international issues and developing your professional research skills, then pursuing a PhD in the Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs could be for you.

By undertaking a PhD with us, you will have the opportunity to work with leading researchers and their professional networks and gain first-hand experience of real life problem-solving. We offer opportunities for PhD students to organise their own workshops/conference. To find out more about what goes on in the Institute, take a look at our blog for examples.

Who we are looking for?

We are seeking applications from highly motivated students who are able to demonstrate a clear capacity for independent thought and sustained academic commitment. We particularly welcome applicants who bring an interdisciplinary approach to their work, drawing on diverse methods, perspectives, and bodies of knowledge to address complex questions.

Successful candidates will show a strong commitment to conducting innovative research that meaningfully engages with real-world problems and produces insights of practical as well as scholarly value. We are especially interested in students whose research interests dovetail with IDIA’s areas of research.

Our areas of research:

Academics from the Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs offer research expertise and experience in a wide range of subject areas. They are extremely well-networked with professionals outside of academia in their respective fields.

Our doctoral research has ranged from UK public policy regarding radicalisation and extremism; the Europeanisation of Northern Ireland’s political identity in the time of Brexit; narratives and myths of contemporary Polish foreign policy; public diplomacy and women’s empowerment in Ukraine; foreign policy and domestic Turkish politics, policy learning in the UK and Australia in times of crisis, including COVID-19; the role of metropolitan innovation ecosystems as diplomatic actors’; sport, diplomacy and sport, and soft power.

Applications in the following areas of research are particularly welcome:

• Diplomacy (all areas)
• Non-state diplomatic actors
• International negotiations, strategy and leadership
• London and other global cities
• Minorities and international affairs (visual culture and political voice)
• Political representation and participation of marginalised communities
• Regional and international organisations including the EU and the United Nations
• Russia-West relations
• Strategies and challenges in the world order
• The European Union, its member states, policies and issues
• British foreign, security and defence policy, UK-EU relations

Supervisor

• Dr Tim Oliver (t.l.oliver@lboro.ac.uk)

Tuition fees for 2026-27 entry

• UK fee - £5,238 Full-time degree per annum
• International fee - £23,100 Full-time degree per annum

Fees for the 2026-27 academic year apply to projects starting in October 2026, February 2027 and July 2027.

UK tuition fees for 2026/27 are currently to be confirmed pending the release of the UKRI recommended rates. Once published, these rates will be subject to formal approval by the University before being confirmed.

Opportunity Details

• Target Start Date: October 2026
• Full time or part time available.
• Open to UK and international applicants.

How to Apply

We welcome discussions with interested candidates.

• Step 1: Interested applicants should first contact Dr Tim Oliver (t.l.oliver@lboro.ac.uk) to discuss your research interests and funding options.
• Step 2: Applicants are then strongly encouraged to contact potential supervisors with a CV, academic transcripts, and confirmation of funding sources or planned funding sources.
• Step 3: following any informal discussion, applicants are invited to make a formal application on the Loughborough Website.