A jury consisting of Brett Ashley Leeds (Rice University), Ola Listhaug (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) and Ron P Smith (Birkbeck College) has awarded the 2011 Journal of Peace Research ‘Nils Petter Gleditsch Article of the Year Award’ to Cullen S Hendrix (University of North Texas, now at the College of William & Mary) and Sarah M Glaser (University of Kansas, now at the College of William & Mary/Virginia Institute of Marine Science). In its assessment of all research articles published in volume 48 of the JPR, the jury paid attention to theoretical rigour, methodological sophistication and substantive relevance. According to the jury, the prize-winning article, ‘Civil Conflict and World Fisheries, 1952-2004’, Journal of Peace Research 48(4): 481-495, makes an important contribution to our understanding of the economic consequences of civil conflict. The study focuses on the impact of civil conflict on fish catch, a major component of food and economic security in much of the world. The authors argue that due to redeployment of labor, population displacement, counterinsurgency activities, and encroachment by opportunistic third parties, civil conflict has a negative effect on both inland and marine fish catch. The authors find a robust and substantively strong negative relationship between civil conflict (and particularly conflicts that involve at least 1000 battle deaths) and total fish catch. They suggest a role for the international community in mitigating the effects of civil conflict on this important economic resource.

The award is USD 1,000.

Honourable mention goes to the runner-up:

Dursun Peksen, ‘Foreign Military Intervention and Women’s Rights’ Journal of Peace Research 48 (4): 455-468.