Personal Statement

In recent years, I have had the opportunity to gain new insights about the different characteristics of international politics and societal issues. Not only through university studies in Political Science (focusing on security and crisis management) but also through my engagement in extra curricular activities at the National Defense University in Stockholm, for example my positions of trust at the student council. I have a passion for these issues and that is why I strive for a career in this field. The actions of global actors such as governments, organizations and corporations have a huge impact on how our societies shape and develop. Needless to say, this is especially true when considering security issues and crises such as conflict

This permeates everything in politics today, ranging from crisis communication to political campaigning, lobbying, diplomacy and even psychological warfare. Public relations and marketing is, as known, an integrated part of the private sphere as well. I am truly fascinated by how powerful the strategy behind a presentation and the communication of an idea can be, regardless of considering public persuasion or product marketing. As I looked into the independent tasks that I have written as a student during these past years, I came to realize that this is a theme that I always revisit, whether I go back to my first written essay regarding George W. Bush´s and Obama’s portrayal of the Middle East or my bachelors thesis on the Coercive Diplomacy by the P5+1 towards

During this time, however, I have increasingly realized that Public Relations and Political Marketing is what I want to focus on and work with in the future. Therefore, in the beginning of 2015, I begun researching different courses and master´s programs, starting with Sweden. It did not take long before I stumbled upon this very master´s program in Strategic Public Relations at Stirling and Lund University. The course contents seemed to be tailor made for me and the double degree arrangement was certainly attractive, especially since I have considered studying in Scotland before. I wanted to apply right away. The problem was (and is) that the course I am attending is a 2-year program. That meant I had to drop out. I let it go, thinking that it would be a shame tossing away everything I worked for during this year. But, in June, after talking with my institution several times, I learned that it might be possible to convert my masters program into a 1-year program. It was, however, not completely certain so I had to wait until the end of the holiday season. Even so, I initiated the application process by starting to formulate this personal statement and uploading the relevant documents. And now, in early August, I found out that it will indeed be possible for me to convert my master´s program. So, this is why my