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The winner of the Best Dissertation Award 2020 is  Sean Fleming from the University of Cambridge with the dissertation ‘Leviathan on a Leash: A Political Theory of State Responsibility’.

The abstract of the thesis:

State responsibility is central to modern politics and international relations. States are commonly blamed for wars, called on to apologize, punished with sanctions, admonished to keep their promises, bound by treaties, and held liable for debts and reparations. But why, and under which conditions, does it make sense to assign responsibilities to whole states rather than to individual leaders and officials? The purpose of this thesis is to resurrect and develop a forgotten understanding of state responsibility from the political thought of Thomas Hobbes.

Award Committee Comments:

This dissertation is a highly ambitious and masterfully executed exploration of the idea of state responsibility. Identifying a central question – how can states be held morally responsible – Dr Fleming recovers Thomas Hobbes’ conception on state personality through political representation, which he systematically develops into an original theory. The committee was impressed by the sharp and critical analysis of existing conceptions of state responsibility, the creative and sophisticated development of Hobbes’ thought, and the effective application to core issues in international politics. Remarkably clear in both argumentation and presentation, Dr Fleming’s dissertation makes a significant contribution to the fields of political thought, International Relations theory, and international law.

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The committee comment:

“This excellent dissertation offers a rich and sophisticated reading of the postcolonial state as an ‘ecosystem’ to challenge conventional conceptions of ‘state failure’. Based primarily on fieldwork in three cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Dr Perazzone carefully reconstructs the material and ideational presence of the Congolese state through the everyday experiences and practices of ‘ordinary dwellers’ and ‘street level bureaucrats’. The committee was impressed by the interpretivist skill underpinning a comprehensive, layered and nuanced analysis, and by the interdisciplinary approach combining political science, urban studies, and social anthropology. Dr Perazzone’s dissertation offers both a critical reminder of the limits of a core Western concept and an innovative demonstration of where and how we can see the postcolonial state at work.”

Honourable Mention

Stéphanie Perazzone from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva: ´Congo: A State Ecosystem´

About the Best Dissertation Award

The Best Dissertation Award recognizes outstanding work by young scholars in the field of International Relations.
It is awarded to dissertations that make a highly original and significant contribution to International Relations based on rigorous research.

The call for nominations for this year’s EISA Best Dissertation Award is now open.

Please attach an electronic copy of the dissertation (pdf or docx file) with the nomination,
which should be submitted electronically to info@eisa-net.org.