Faculty Awards, Honors and Recent Publications

Martha Finnemore, University Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, was awarded the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science, widely regarded as the most esteemed honor in the field and often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Political Science.”

A world-renowned expert on global governance, international organizations, cybersecurity and constructivist social theory, Finnemore was cited for “her influential scholarship and empirical research” by the Johan Skytte Foundation at Uppsala University in Sweden, which administers the award. The prize committee of international scholars praised Finnemore for academic achievements that have “significantly contributed to advancing constructivism in the study of international organizations and their impact on global governance.”

The award citation noted, “Her work has highlighted the crucial role of norms and ideas in shaping state behaviour within international institutions.”

The award citation noted, “Her work has highlighted the crucial role of norms and ideas in shaping state behaviour within international institutions.”

Finnemore, who received the award along with Ohio State University Political Science Professor Alexander Wendt, thanked the foundation for recognizing her scholarship. “Receiving the Johan Skytte prize is a great honor. It recognizes not just me and Alex Wendt but also the now-extensive group of scholars researching the sociological features of global politics,” she said.

“Not only did I have support from extraordinary colleagues in a world-class department, but being in Washington meant I was always stumbling over new head-scratching puzzles to research.”

She singled out her GW colleagues for their support since she first came to the university in 1991. “GW was a great place to do some of the earliest work in this vein,” she said. “Not only did I have support from extraordinary colleagues in a world-class department, but being in Washington meant I was always stumbling over new head-scratching puzzles to research.” 

Political Science Chair Eric Lawrence noted that the Johan Skytte Prize is among the most prestigious awards a political scientist can receive. “It is a tremendous honor for [Finnemore] to win the award for her path-breaking research,” he said, adding that Finnemore “makes the Department of Political Science and GW a better place, and this award reaffirms that fact.”

Finnemore is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science and a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She has been a visiting research fellow at the Brookings Institution and Stanford University. Throughout her career, she has received fellowships or grants from the MacArthur Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the Smith Richardson Foundation and the United States Institute of Peace.

Among her many publications, Finnemore is the co-author (with GW’s Professor Michael Barnett) of the book “Rules for the World: International Organizations in Global Politics,” which won the International Studies Association’s award for Best Book in 2006. She is also the author of “National Interests in International Society” and “The Purpose of Intervention,” which won the American Political Science Association’s Woodrow Wilson Award as “the best book published on government, politics or international affairs” in 2004.

Since 1995, the Skytte Prize has been awarded annually to scholars who have made outstanding and groundbreaking contributions to the understanding of political science and its relevance in the world today. The prize includes a cash award of SEK 500,000—about $46,000—and a silver medal. Finnemore and Wendt were recognized at a ceremony at Uppsala University on September 29, 2023.

Three faculty members from George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs have been selected by the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, D.C., in their highly competitive fellowship program for the 2023-2024 academic year. In this year’s rigorous international competition, approximately one in 15 applicants were selected.

David Shambaugh earned the distinction of Distinguished Fellow, while Moses Kansanga and Joanna Spear were selected as Fellows.  

David Shambaugh earned the distinction of Distinguished Fellow, while Moses Kansanga and Joanna Spear were selected as Fellows.  

“I am so thrilled that the Wilson Center has recognized three of our faculty members—Professors Shambaugh, Kansanga and Spear—with these highly competitive fellowship awards,” Elliott School Dean Alyssa Ayres said. “Their selection underscores the outstanding caliber of our faculty, and, notably, how our scholars’ research connects to policy issues, an essential element of the Elliott School’s mission.”

Fellows conduct research and write in their areas of expertise, while interacting with policymakers in Washington, Wilson Center staff and other scholars in residence. The Wilson Center is a “key non-partisan policy forum for tackling global issues through independent research and open dialogue to inform actional ideas for the policy communities.”

“Their selection underscores the outstanding caliber of our faculty, and, notably, how our scholars’ research connects to policy issues, an essential element of the Elliott School’s mission.”

Shambaugh, the Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, Political Science and International Affairs and the founding director of the Elliott School's China Policy Program, is internationally recognized for his scholarly work involving contemporary China and international relations of Asia. He was also a fellow of the Wilson Center from 2002-2003 and served acting director of its Asia Program from 1987-1988.

“For me professionally, I am deeply honored to have been selected as a Distinguished Fellow in the 2023-2024 class of Fellows at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, but I am also personally pleased because it will be my third time at the center,” Shambaugh said. “So, this will be a real homecoming for me, and I have deep respect for all that the Wilson Center has contributed to the intellectual, scholarly and cultural life of our nation."

Shambaugh, a prolific and award-winning author, will work on his next book project entitled Disillusionment & Disengagement: How China Lost America.

Kansanga, an assistant professor of geography and international affairs, will focus his fellowship research on post-harvest food loss in Africa. “Specifically, my work will explore the multi-scalar drivers of postharvest food loss of vegetables in smallholder farming communities, with emphasis on the gender dynamics that underpin women smallholder farmers’ disproportionate burden of [postharvest loss],” Kansanga said. “My work will also use participatory techniques to explore contextually relevant solutions to postharvest food loss.”

Spear, director of the FAO Regional Skill Sustainment Initiative and an Elliott School research professor, will be immersing herself in the world of biopharma and how it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, she will explore the independent domestic strategies and foreign policies of biopharmaceutical firms such as Moderna, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson in the development of the messenger RNA vaccines that have been vital in suppressing the COVID-19 virus.

“The roles of pharma and biotech firms in developing COVID-19 vaccines and getting them to market is a story that has not yet been independently or fully recounted, nor has the role of these firms and their relationships with states and the models of cooperation developed been critically assessed,” Spear said. “I hope to rectify this.”