News

The Department of Politics and International Studies is thrilled to announce the winners of this year's PhD Fieldwork Photography Competition! Each year, this competition celebrates the incredible visual work our PhD students capture during their fieldwork, showcasing the diverse and profound ways they engage with their subjects and the communities…

The Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at the University of Cambridge is delighted to announce the appointment of Duncan Kelly as Professor of Politics (effective 1 July 2025). His election to this position marks a significant new milestone in Professor Kelly's distinguished career at Cambridge, where he has been a valued memb…

Abii-Tah Bih, a PhD student in the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at the University of Cambridge, has been awarded for her outstanding work in widening participation for aspiring African postgraduates. Ms. Bih received a prestigious Cambridge SU Award for Contributions to Access and Widening Participation at a ceremony rec…

We are thrilled to announce that Dr Farhana Afrin Rahman has been awarded the prestigious L.H.M. Ling Outstanding First Book Prize at the 2025 BISA Awards for her ground-breaking work, After the Exodus: Gender and Belonging in Bangladesh's Rohingya Refugee Camps (Cambridge University Press).The L.H.M. Ling Outstanding First Book Prize recognizes an…

The Department of Politics and International Studies is delighted to announce the 2025 Aaron Rapport Teaching Prize for excellence in teaching has been awarded to Dr Ilias Alami.Each year, the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) awards a prize based on student feedback to the individual who has best informed students' education…

Professor Jude Browne's new book "Political Responsibility and Tech Governance: AI, Repro-tech and Structural Injustice" was officially launched at Cambridge University Press Bookshop on Friday 14 March 2025.  The book focusses on the rise of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), and the impact of new reproductive and genetic technologies (Rep…

Professor Mette Eilstrup-Sangiovanni has co-authored a book which asks, "How do climate advocacy organizations use digital technologies to campaign for climate action?"This book examines how technology influences the formation, scope, and organizational structures of climate organizations, the goals they strive for, and their choice of strategies a…

Professor Ayşe Zarakol was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Copenhagen on 8 November 2024. The prestigious honour was conferred during the Annual Commemoration ceremony, an event attended by Her Majesty Queen Mary of Denmark.Professor Zarakol was recognized for her career achievement and significant contributions to the field of…

The Department of Politics and International Studies is excited to announce the publication of After the Exodus: Gender and Belonging in Bangladesh’s Rohingya Refugee Camps by Farhana Afrin Rahman. This powerful book delves into the experiences of Rohingya women who fled violence and persecution in Myanmar, seeking refuge in Bangladesh.Based on 14 …

Mary Onoŋokpono is a Nigerian-British writer with a POLIS MPhil in African Studies. Her short story 'Firewater', about a child's perspective of the Atlantic slave trade, has been awarded first prize by a competition for emerging African writers.

Dr Ilias Alami's newest book, The Spectre of State Capitalism, has just been published by Oxford University Press. Co-written with Prof. Adam D. Dixon, Dr Alami's new book provides a comprehensive study of the material, discursive, and ideological dimensions of the ongoing reconfiguration of the state's role as promoter, supervisor, shareholder-inv…

Dr Ella McPherson Reflects on her Experience as ICA 2024 Theme Co-ChairCGHR Co-Director, Dr Ella McPherson was delighted to serve as Co-Chair of the International Communication Association’s 74th conference theme, ‘Communication and Global Human Rights’. The 5000-member International Communication Association (ICA) convenes one of the biggest annua…

The Department of Politics and International Studies is delighted to announce that Dr Alina Utrata as the 2024 Lisa Smirl PhD Prize winner.Every year, the Department of Politics and International Studies offers a prize of £200 for the best PhD thesis completed in the previous academic year. The Prize is named in memory of Lisa Smirl, who gained her…

Every year The Department of Politics and International Studies holds a competition to find the best photographs taken by our PhD students during their fieldwork. The photographs submitted to the PhD Fieldwork Photography Competition showcase images which represent the diversity and depth with which our students interact with their subjects and the…

Dr Marthe Achtnich has been awarded the BISA Susan Strange Best Book Prize for her outstanding book Mobility Economies in Europe’s Borderlands: Migrants’ Journeys through Libya and the Mediterranean (Cambridge University Press). The Susan Strange Book Prize is awarded annually for an outstanding book published in any field of International Studies.…