Announced last fall, the Professor of International History and Politics, and Chair of the Department of International History and Politics, was bestowed with the honour on 7 April 2021 at a panel on “Thinking International Relations Beyond the West”, held in recognition of his work on the occasion of the 2021 International Studies Association Annual Convention.

The GSC Distinguished Scholar Award is given annually to those who reflect a “sustained interest in Global South affairs” in both their teaching and publications. Professor Mohamedou received the award specifically “for his seminal work on state-building in Africa and the Middle East, as well as his contribution to the debate on racism and international relations”.

During the panel, a number of international scholars congratulated Professor Mohamedou on his merit. “One of the most distinguished scholars working on the Global South, but not only on the Global South, a wonderful scholar who delivered very much appreciated classes in Sciences Po for several years”, said Professor Bertrand Badie (Sciences Po Paris).

Professor Jacqueline Braveboy-Wagner (City University of New York) commented on the professor’s work on political transition [Democratisation in the 21st Century], which was “reviving transitology in a new way, systematising the ways in which this could be used.”

Professor Maria Consuelo Dávila Pérez (National Autonomous University of Mexico) stressed the importance of his work on the contemporary securitisation of the world, while Professor Karim Bitar (University of Saint-Joseph Beirut) said that the professor is “an intellectual mogul and bridge-builder; one of the most important intellectuals on the world stage today”.

Professor Bahgat Korany (American University of Cairo) commented on Professor Mohamedou’s work “deal[ing] with the relationship between particularism and universalism”, and “the rigour of [his] contribution to international relations.”

Professor Funmi Olonisakin (Vice-President of King’s College) noted as well his “comprehensive approach to international relations”, as well as his “decolonial work” and attachment to “the importance of history and context.”

Professor Robert Vitalis (University of Pennsylvania) remarked on Professor Mohamedou’s first book, Iraq and the Second Gulf War, and the most recent, A Theory of ISIS, as works that “move away from the psychologising and pathologising of the Global South leaders, movements and peoples” seeking to “get away from the provincial IR”.

Finally, Dr. Nadia Marzouki (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris) offered her own heartfelt congratulations.