The Laura Shannon Prize in Contemporary European Studies

Stella Ghervas Professor of Russian History, Newcastle University

WINNER OF THE 2023 AWARD IN HISTORY AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Conquering Peace: From the Enlightenment to the European Union, Harvard University Press, 2021.

Jury Statement

“Beyond its virtuosic achievement as a work of history, Conquering Peace is conspicuous for its present-day relevance and practical applicability. The better we understand the past, the better equipped we are to address the present as we look toward the future. Without ever letting distorting presentisms compromise her scholarly integrity or sophistication, Ghervas is alert to current tensions, challenges and antagonisms among European states and beyond them. One can only hope that all professional diplomats, as well as politicians engaged in international affairs, will read and learn from this wise book.

Impressively learned and consistently incisive, as brilliantly conceived as it is superbly executed, Conquering Peace is a stunning accomplishment that is destined to become a classic in modern European diplomatic history, political history, international relations and peace studies. It is eminently worthy of the Nanovic Institute’s Laura Shannon Prize for 2023.”