Academic Awards

The Arditi Prize in International Relations

The Arditi Foundation created in 1993 the Arditi Prize in International Relations which is awarded annually to the best master’s dissertation in International Studies or International Affairs.

• The 2008 Arditi award was given to Mrs Nell-Marie Williams for her memoir «National Migration Regime : The Impact of Moral Panics – A United States case Study: 1914-2004»

The Paul Guggenheim Prize in International Law

The Paul Guggenheim Foundation was created in 1979 to honour the memory of Professor Paul Guggenheim. This Prize (of CHF 15 000) is awarded every two years to a thesis in public international law which is distinguished by its exceptional quality and is the first outstanding work of a young author at the begining of his/her career.

• The 2007 prize was awarded to Mr Tal Becker for his book «Terrorism and the State: Rethinking  the Rules of State Responsibility».

The Mariano Garcia Rubio Prize

The Garcia Rubio Prize was created in September 2004 to honour the memory of a former assistant of the International Law Department. It is awarded each year to the best master’s dissertation in International Law.

• The 2009 prize was given to Mrs Christiane Ahlborn for her dissertation «The Development of International Refugee Protection through the Practice of the UN Security Council». 

The Institute's Alumni Association Prize

This prize was established by the Alumni Association to reward the best Ph.D. thesis by a student from the Institute. It is awarded every year by each academic unit in turn.
For the 2009 edition, the Committee of the Association has decided to award two prizes of 2000 CHF each.

• The 2009 prizes were awarded to Mr Martin de Bonte for his master dissertation «Inflation Targeting in Emerging Markets: Do we know what we think we know?» and to Dr Théo Boutruche for his PhD thesis «L'interdiction des maux superflus. Contribution à l'étude des principes et règles relatifs aux moyens et méthodes de guerre en droit international humanitaire».

The AFIS Prize (Association des fonctionnaires internationaux suisses)

This prize has been established by the AFIS for the 60th anniversary of the UN in order to reward an original contribution to the development, reinforcement and/or spreading of multilateralism based on the ideals of the UN Charter. The prize and accessit amount to CHF 4000 and CHF 1000 and are offered by the Swiss Life Company. They reward two Master in International Studies' dissertations.

• 2009 Prize to Mr Claudio Brenni for his dissertation «Les droits de propriété intellectuelle en agriculture: comment valoriser les savoirs traditionnels»; 
• Accessit to Mr Morgan Scoville-Simonds for his dissertation «Discourse Analysis in Political Ecology - Towards an analytical framework of environmental controversies».

The Pierre du Bois Prize

This prize, created by the Fondation Pierre du Bois pour l'histoire du temps présent, annually rewards the best Ph.D. thesis in International History and Politics presented at the Institute.

• The 2009 prize was given to Dr Sophie Huber for her dissertation «Polyphonie sur l’identité européenne. Aux origines d’un discours identitaire (1962-1973)».