Susan Strange Best Book Prize

We’re pleased to award the Susan Strange Book Prize for an outstanding book published in any field of International Studies during the course of the 12 months up to 31 December 2024. The aim of the Prize is to honour the work of Susan Strange and to recognise outstanding current work being conducted in the discipline.

Susan was, and remains, one of the most influential figures in British International Studies. She held several key academic posts including the Montague Burton Chair in International Relations at LSE. Susan was a founding member of BISA and our first Treasurer. She was also the first female President of the International Studies Association (ISA) in 1995.

Eligibility

  • Books may be nominated for ONE BISA prize only each year. The same book cannot be nominated for both the Susan Strange and L.H.M Ling prizes.
  • Books may be nominated by publishers, conveners of BISA working groups, Heads of Department or equivalent. Self-nominations are not permitted.
  • Nominators are encouraged to respect the spirit of the prize and nominate only books of the highest quality. Nominations must be made online, accompanied by a short statement of the reason for nomination.
  • A maximum of three books can be nominated by the same publisher. We ask you to undertake an internal selection process and only nominate books for consideration that will be considered original, make a significant contribution to the field and that can be regarded as innovative and excellent. Please ensure you detail why the book meets these criteria, and don’t just provide a dust cover description of the scope of the book (more information below in the 'Guidance for supporting statements' section).
  • Nominated books must be in the field of international studies.
  • The author(s) need not hold BISA membership.
  • The nominated book must have been published between 1 January and 31 December 2024. Where a book is published later in the year but carries a 2025 publication date, authors may be required to provide proof that the book was published in the calendar year 2024.

Guidance for supporting statements

  • The supporting statement should speak to the original contribution made by the book to the scholarly field of international studies, the significance of this contribution to the scholarly field of international studies, and what makes the book particularly deserving of consideration (e.g. based on extensive fieldwork; new methodological approach; theoretical advancement; new empirical cases, etc.)
  • Third party endorsements should not be included in the statement.
  • Statements should be no longer than 300 words in length.

All nominations must be made online using the online nomination form. Nominations are open from Wednesday 8 January 2025 until Monday 10 February at 11.59pm (UK time).  NOW EXTENDED to Monday 24 February at 11.59PM (UK time). Nominations made outside of this period will not be considered.

Pile of books

The judging process

  1. Online nominations are received and reviewed by the prize committee.
  2. Please ensure you make the case for the nomination (why should it be regarded as Excellent, Innovative, High Academic Quality, etc) and please do not just describe the book subject area or provide the dust cover notes (see supporting statement guidance above for further information).
  3. Your nomination must be accompanied by the submission of a digital copy of the manuscript. The only accepted format is a PDF file. Any nomination where a PDF file has not been received will be removed from consideration. Please send this file to Ella.Bullard@bisa.ac.uk
  4. The prize will be judged by BISA trustee Lee Jarvis, who the Executive Committee have appointed to take responsibility for overseeing this prize. The same trustee will chair the appointed committee.
  5. The prize committee produces a long-list of a maximum of 10 nominated books.
  6. The prize will be awarded at our annual conference. We reserve the right not to make an award in any particular year.

Have a question?

Enquiries about the prize and the process of nomination should be sent to the chair of the prize committee, Professor Lee Jarvis: L.Jarvis@lboro.ac.uk 

Make a nomination

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion monitoring

After a nomination is submitted, nominators and nominees will be invited to complete a brief Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) monitoring form to help BISA improve the inclusivity and fairness of its prize processes; all responses will remain anonymous and will not impact prize decisions. We kindly encourage you to take a few moments to fill out the form, as your input is invaluable in supporting our commitment to equity and inclusivity.

“[The award] substantiates the importance and timeliness of Indigenous women’s concerns and views about the concept and practice of self-determination. It is also very encouraging to see the award be given to a book focusing on Indigenous politics, an emerging but growing field in International Studies. It’s a reminder that it is well the worth the struggle to embark on an unestablished idea and stick to it even when the going gets tough. The award is also a tribute to the courageous Indigenous women who contributed to the research and informed my thinking about a challenging topic. I hope that the award will encourage scholars in other fields to engage with and learn from the field of Indigenous Studies. I also hope that it will help communities to push for the kinds of socio-political changes that are called for in the book."
Rauna Kuokkanen, 2020 winner
Rauna Kuokkanen

Past recipients

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