Lots of scope in the Harry Hodson Award

Pictured above, winner of last last year’s Hodson Award, New Zealander Kiraan Chetty. 

Nominations are open for the annual Harry Hodson award, given by the Commonwealth Round Table for a written piece of work by an undergraduate or postgraduate student from a university in the Commonwealth.  The winner receives a £1000 cash prize and publication of their article in The Round Table, The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs.

This is an annual award presented by The Round Table in memory of the journal’s late editor, Harry Hodson, and to mark his association with The Round Table for nearly 70 years.Current events give applicants plenty of scope for applicants – Is the Commonwealth really relevant? How should the Commonwealth promote human rights and good governance? Will the Commonwealth fill the gap caused by Brexit? Are Commonwealth small states influencing the climate change debate? How effective are Commonwealth states in addressing issues such as health security, gender equality, or ethnic violence?

The topic chosen by applicants should relate to the contemporary Commonwealth, or a region or country within the Commonwealth. It should provide an interesting, engaging, and academically-based take on the chosen issue.  It can be written specifically for the competition or be based on an essay or part of a dissertation. However, on submission it should be read as a stand-alone piece of work, and it should not have been published, or submitted for publication, elsewhere.

Applicants should contribute pieces of between 1500 and 2000 words by 31 October 2021. They should be aged under 30 at the time of submission of the article. Entries for the award should be marked ‘Hodson Memorial Prize’, and sent via email to Dr Alex May, Hon Secretary of The Round Table. Email: alex.may@oup.com.Click here to learn about previous Hodson Prize winners.