Lifetime contribution award for Aberystwyth International Relations expert

Professor Ken Booth, winner of the 2018 British International Studies Association Distinguished Contribution Prize

Professor Ken Booth, winner of the 2018 British International Studies Association Distinguished Contribution Prize

19 June 2018

The life-long contribution of a leading expert in strategic studies, international relations theory, and global security, has been recognised by the British International Studies Association (BISA).

Professor Ken Booth from the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University was presented with the BISA Distinguished Contribution Prize at the Association’s 43rd annual conference which was held in Bath on 13-15 June.

The Distinguished Contribution Prize recognises an individual’s contribution to the promotion of excellence in the discipline of International Studies over a substantial period of time.

BISA describes recipients as an individual who has made a contribution of demonstrable distinction to the intellectual development and the leadership of the discipline, with a record of achievement that is recognised as having added considerable prestige to International Studies in the UK and beyond.

Professor Elizabeth Treasure, Vice-Chancellor of Aberystwyth University said: “I extend my warmest congratulations to Professor Booth on this award, which represents a richly deserved recognition of lifetime’s contribution to the world of International Relations. The Department of International Politics has played a pioneering role in the development of the discipline of International Relations, born out of the ravages and bloodshed of the First World War. As it nears its centenary, in 2019, it is only fitting therefore, that one of the Department’s most distinguished members is recognised in this way.” 

Professor Booth originally came to Aberystwyth as a student and has spent his whole academic career in the Department of International Politics.

During this time he has also held visiting positions at the US Naval War College, Dalhousie University (Canada), Cambridge University, the University of Southern California, Antwerp University, and the National University of Malaysia.

He was Head of the Department (1999-2005) and the first EH Carr Professor. 

He is currently President of the David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies, editor of the journal International Relations, and he was recently made Distinguished Research Professor at Aberystwyth University.

BISA was set up as a Learned Society in 1975 to promote the study of International Studies, and Professor Booth is a former Chair and was its first President. He twice served on the Higher Education Funding Council Research Assessment Exercise panel for Politics and International Studies.

Professor Booth has authored or edited 29 books, singly or sometimes with colleagues, and his research has been translated into a dozen languages, including Chinese, Russian, and Arabic. He has delivered papers and addresses in nearly 30 countries.   

He is the only individual in his discipline to be elected a Fellow of the British Academy, receive the (US) International Studies Association Susan Strange Award (for his contribution to challenging conventional wisdom and professional complacency), and now be awarded the BISA Distinguished Contribution Prize.