Four members of the UC Irvine Department of Political Science were among those honored for outstanding research and scholarship at the International Studies Association annual convention. Held in Toronto at the end of March, the awards recognize two recent Ph.D. recipients for papers authored while graduate students at UCI and two faculty members for lifetime achievement in research, writing and mentorship. 

Pictured left to right:

Pernilla Johansson
UCI political science Ph.D. 2018
Honor: Best Paper Prize, Women’s Caucus of ISA, for “Re-embodying Practice Approaches to Investigate Listening in Peace Building.”
Currently Deputy Secretary General of The Kvinna till Kvinna (Woman to Woman) Foundation in Sweden which supports women’s peacebuilding in conflicts, with 130 partner organizations in over 20 countries in the Balkans and Ukraine, Middle East, South Caucasus, and Central and West Africa.

Etel Solingen
UCI political science Chancellor’s Professor and Thomas T. and Elizabeth C. Tierney Chair in Peace Studies
Honor: Distinguished Scholar Award, International Security Section
For more than two decades, Solingen’s work has focused on the risks of nuclear proliferation and the domestic incentives of states for seeking nuclear weapons. Her research has advanced global understanding of how policymakers can design effective policies to limit the risk of nuclear war.

Cecelia Lynch
UCI political science professor
Honor: Distinguished Scholar Award, International Political Sociology Section
Lynch pursues research on religious and secular ethics in global humanitarianism. Her work examines Christian and Muslim humanitarian ethics - specifically, whether or not non-governmental organizations connected to different faith traditions find common ground and work together on humanitarian and peacebuilding efforts, and if so, where and how, and with what implications for humanitarian principles and practices.

Marcos Scauso
UCI political science Ph.D. 2018
Honor: Best Paper Prize, International Political Sociology Section, for “Colonialism and Liberation: The Role of Nation and Race in Decolonial Voices”
Currently a fellow at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame where he pursues research on international relations and identity politics, with a concentration on indigenous voices in post-colonial Latin America and issues of intersectionality. In the fall, he’ll be joining Quinnipiac University as an assistant professor in political science.