Professor Lyall in The Spotlight

We are proud to announce that Associate Professor of Government and James Wright Chair in Transnational Studies, Professor Jason Lyall has been awarded the 2021 Peter Katzenstein Book Prize! This prestigious win marks the second consecutive year that a Dartmouth Professor has received this honor. 

The Peter Katzenstein Book Prize recognizes an outstanding first book in International Relations, Comparative Politics, or Political Economy. 

In the selection committee's announcement of the award they stated the following in regards to Professor Lyall's new book: "In this extraordinary book, breathtaking in ambition, Jason Lyall demonstrates powerfully that ethnic inequality seriously undermines the battlefield performance of national militaries. An example of the very best of curiosity-driven research, Lyall set out to see if his own observations of the destabilizing impact of inequality on the nascent Afghan national army had wider significance. Chasing this rabbit, he built an ambitious new database—Project Mars—to plot quantitatively the global connection in modern warfare between ethnic inequalities and the battlefield functioning of armies. Using these data, he identified critical empirical cases from across the globe and from the nineteenth century onward, and crafted richly textured and highly illuminating historical case-studies. Theoretically sophisticated, methodologically rigorous, and highly relevant politically, Divided Armies is testimony to Lyall's imagination, drive, and scholarly dexterity. It is also testimony to the value of long-range—as opposed to quick-yield—research. A monumental achievement"!

Additionally, Professor Lyall was also intrviewed by Meghan Powers '23 of  The Dartmouth about the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan and his long relationship with humanitarian aid within the country. 

"Lyall shares how his years of firsthand experience in Afghanistan shape his understanding of the current crisis, and offers advice on how those interested in learning more can navigate what the media has to offer." 

Read the full interview here.  

Congratulations again for you recent achievements, Professor Lyall!