Introducing the 2013 Gelber Award finalists: first up, Daron Acemoglu

Each year, Foreign Policy partners with the the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto to present the Gelber Prize, a literary award for the world’s best non-fiction book in English on foreign affairs that seeks to deepen public debate on significant international issues. It was founded in 1989 in memory of ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
614214_130207_acemoglu2.jpg
614214_130207_acemoglu2.jpg

Each year, Foreign Policy partners with the the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto to present the Gelber Prize, a literary award for the world's best non-fiction book in English on foreign affairs that seeks to deepen public debate on significant international issues. It was founded in 1989 in memory of Canadian diplomat Lionel Gelber (1907-1989). A prize of $15,000 is awarded to the winner.

Each year, Foreign Policy partners with the the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto to present the Gelber Prize, a literary award for the world’s best non-fiction book in English on foreign affairs that seeks to deepen public debate on significant international issues. It was founded in 1989 in memory of Canadian diplomat Lionel Gelber (1907-1989). A prize of $15,000 is awarded to the winner.

The five jurors, including our own Daniel Drezner, have selected a longlist of 12 books. A shortlist of five titles will be announced on Feb. 19 and the winner will be announced on March 25. The winner will be invited to accept their award and deliver a free public lecture on Monday, April 15th at the Munk School of Global Affairs.

Here’s the full longlist:

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be featuring one interview per day with the authors of the books. The interviews are conducted by Rob Steiner, former Wall Street Journal correspondent and director of fellowships in international journalism at the Munk School.

First up is MIT economist and frequent FP contributor Daron Acemoglu. Here’s the prize citation for Why Nations Fail:

 

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson brings a classically liberal perspective to the diverging fates of societies of similar potential over time. Ranging broadly in historic circumstance to illustrate their argument against the ‘extractive state,’ the authors bring fresh information and new analytical tools to bear on the dynamics of national development. The regressive role of colonial regimes competes with local values and ideologies for the black ribbon in this stimulating thesis.”

Listen to the interview here.

 

Joshua Keating is a former associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

Read More On War

More from Foreign Policy

Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.
Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak

Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.

Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.
Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.

Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage

The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.

A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.
A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.

The West’s False Choice in Ukraine

The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.

Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi
Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi

The Masterminds

Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.