The interdependence of societies across borders, the current visibility of globalized issues and the growing internationalization of social processes justify the fact that training in the scientific area of International Relations has occupied a prominent place in the whole of UAL's training offer.

The creation of the Degree in International Relations dates back to 1989, and is part of a broader strategy to increase this scientific area through research, undergraduate and postgraduate training, as well as dissemination activities, be they more academic or more cultural.

Thus, in 1996, the study center called Observatory of Foreign Affairs was created, responsible for the elaboration of several studies, for the publication of specialized works and for the edition, since 1997, of the yearbook JANUS, which has established itself as a reference publication in Portugal.

In 2010, this Observatory was re-founded as a research unit, adopting the abbreviated international name of OBSERVARE, creating a new scientific journal JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations, with scientific arbitration, bilingual (English-Portuguese), available with free online access, currently indexed in several international networks of scientific journals (SCOPUS, EBSCO, LATINDEX, DIALNET, DOAJ).

The three International Congresses promoted by OBSERVARE in 2011, 2014 and 2017 were important milestones for these studies in Portugal.

Over the years, several postgraduate courses on international themes have been held, such as International Journalism, International Business, African Geopolitics or Peace and War Studies. The latter was followed, since 2002, by the Master in Peace and War Studies in New International Relations, to which, since 2013, another Master in International Relations has been added.

In turn, from 2015 onwards, there is a Doctorate in International Relations: Geopolitics and Geoeconomics, which provides high-level advanced training.

The preparation course for the competition for the diplomatic career was organized several times; round tables between specialists, or colloquia with foreign actors, or short courses for wider audiences have been frequent, in addition to the frequent participation of UAL professors and researchers in scientific activities abroad. In this field of internationalization, it is worth mentioning the creation of four Chairs (two in each semester) taught by foreign Visiting Professors.

To coordinate all this research and teaching activity, the Department of International Relations of the Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa has a highly qualified faculty, in which the team of PhD professors is completed with invited experts from the highest positions in Portuguese society.