Critical Alternatives for World Politics Early Career Paper Prize 2026
Congratulations to Ana Pandal De La Peza, winner of the inaugural BISA Critical Alternatives for World Politics Early Career Paper Prize.
The Critical Alternatives for World Politics (CAWP) Working Group is delighted to announce that Ana Pandal De La Peza from Central European University has been awarded the first CAWP Early Career Paper Prize for her outstanding presentation at the 2026 BISA annual conference, 'Searching as Worlding: Ontologies of Interdependance in La Búsqueda.'
The prize recognises an exceptional conference presentation by an early-career researcher whose work demonstrates the intellectual ambition, originality, and the critical spirit that the working group aims to foster.
Prize commendation
The CAWP co-convenors were highly impressed with the originality of this work. It paints a rich picture of the problem of La Búsqueda, the role of the physical environment and objects, and how we relate to each other as human beings. It handles a very sensitive subject with great care and skill, giving voice to those who have been lost and the families they leave behind. It is a highly affecting presentation and will stay with us for a long time.
Alongside the prize, Ana has been invited to present the paper as part of the Critical Alternatives for World Politics virtual seminar series this autumn, where the research will be discussed with a wider audience.
In response to receiving the award, Ana said:
"Studying disappearance is sad, enraging, frustrating. And injustice can oftentimes obscure the joy, togetherness and epistemic work communities build despite it. In my work, I try to learn from what emerges when search groups turn their pain into embodied, beyond-human knowledge, sometimes more telling of the 'international' than traditional perspectives are. It's a tightrope between romanticising a type of violence they should never have faced, and honouring what they make out of it - a tightrope I'm not always sure I know how to walk. This prize encourages me to keep trying, and for that I'm beyond grateful and honoured."
The CAWP Working Group warmly congratulates Ana on this well-deserved recognition and looks forward to welcoming her to the seminar series later this year.