Nuffield Alumni and Fellow Awarded Outstanding Thesis Prizes
Two Nuffield College alumni and one current Nuffield Fellow have been awarded prizes by the Department of Politics and International Relations for outstanding DPhil theses completed in 2023-24 and 2024-25. The three were among twelve awardees who received prizes in five categories.
The two alumni, John de Bhal (DPhil International Relations 2020) and Sam Holcroft (MPhil International Relations 2018; DPhil International Relations 2020), were among five to receive the 'Best Doctoral Thesis in International Relations' prize.
In 2023-4, John de Bhal won for his thesis 'Stratified World-Making in International Relations: Stratification, Order, and Power.' His thesis studies a range of techniques that weaker actors use to contest international hierarchies.
In 2024-25, Sam Holcroft was awarded this prize for 'The Capitulatory Sea: Extraterritorial Relations in the Mediterranean, 996-1937.'
In 2023-24, Elsa Kugelberg, currently a Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellow in Politics at Nuffield College, won the Best Doctoral Thesis in Political Theory award with her thesis ‘Just sex: A Theory of Justice for the Sexual Sphere.’ This thesis explores the connection between politics and our most intimate relationships.
Nuffield College warmly congratulates John, Sam, and Elsa on these well-deserved achievements. Their awards recognise the originality and excellence of their scholarship, and we are delighted to see their work honoured in this way.