Melanie Sauter has been awarded the Nils Petter Gleditsch Article of the Year Award for her journal article entitled ‘Politicized health emergencies and violent resistance against healthcare responders.’
The Nils Petter Gleditsch Article of the Year Award has been announced annually since 2006, based on articles published in the Journal of Peace Research the previous full volume. The 2024 award was announced on 3 February.
The winning article seeks to address a highly important and timely topic: violence against healthcare workers in conflict zones. Focusing on the case of Ebola responders in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2018-2020, Sauter addresses the puzzle of why health workers were attacked by the same communities they were trying to protect from disease.
The jury highlighted that the article shows how political grievances can lead to not only political violence involving civilians, but also the increased spread of a virus: “Overall, the article is a substantial contribution to the study of political violence and other topics including global health.”
The Journal of Peace Research was founded in 1964, and Nils Petter Gleditsch was the editor-in-chief for almost 30 years (1983-2010). An independent jury suggests the winner.
PRIO congratulates Melanie Sauter!
