Newcastle professor wins the Laura Shannon Prize for book about peace-making

This year, the Laura Shannon prize was awarded to Stella Ghervas for her book entitled “Conquering Peace: from the Enlightenment to the European Union” published by Harvard University Press. Professor of Russian history at Newcastle University, her work on war, diplomacy and peace in Europe has been highly praised.

Each year it is awarded by the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at Notre Dame University in Indiana. This prize of $10,000 is presented to the European Studies book which “transcends a focus on any one country, state, or people to stimulate new ways of thinking about contemporary Europe as a whole.” It is one of the leading book prizes in this field.

The jury, constituted of a group of scholars from different universities, recognised it as a “highly original, analytically penetrating, magisterial narrative” in their statement. Praising it “for its present-day relevance and practical applicability”, they added that “one can only hope that all professional diplomats, as well as politicians engaged in international affairs, will read and learn from this wise book”.

The book covers the history of Europe for over three centuries, looking at political, diplomatic, military, legal and intellectual history. By comparing different processes of war and peace-making achieved by diverse politicians, she explores how “since the 18th century, European thinkers and leaders have pursued lasting peace across the continent and fostered the idea of European unification”.

In response to this, Stella Ghervas declared herself as “thrilled and honoured to win this prestigious award and grateful to the distinguished jury members for this welcome recognition of the power of peace”. 

To celebrate this major accomplishment, Stella Ghervas will be giving a lecture regarding new thinking in the study of Europe at the University of Notre Dame later this year.