For 2020, the University of Chicago has awarded Thomas Biersteker, Professor of International Relations and Curt Gasteyger Chair in International Security and Conflict Studies, and Director for Policy Research at the Graduate Institute, with the the Alumni Professional Achievement Award in recognition of his exceptional career.

An extract of the statement by the University of Chicago:

“An internationally renowned scholar on international relations theory and international organizations, particularly the UN, Biersteker has taught numerous seminars and courses globally and published widely in these areas including articles, book chapters, and policy reports. He has authored, coauthored, or edited eleven influential books, most notably State Sovereignty as Social Construct (1996), The Emergence of Private Authority in Global Governance (2002), Targeted Sanctions: The Impacts and Effectiveness of UN Action (2016), and Informal Governance in World Politics (forthcoming 2021, Cambridge University Press).

Throughout his career Professor Biersteker has bridged theoretically based research and policy practice. In recent years, his policy reports have contributed to the reform of UN sanctions programs. He played a key role in the development of “targeted sanctions” as an alternative to “comprehensive sanctions,” which were associated with harmful humanitarian consequences. He drafted influential reports calling for due process protections for sanctioned individuals and conducted an ambitious seven-year research program on the impacts and effectiveness of all UN targeted sanctions, engaging more than 50 scholars and policy practitioners from around the world. One of the major outcomes of this research program was the development of the UN SanctionsApp which provides UN policymakers access to independent, scholarly and authoritative information about sanctions in real time. His most recent activities include the design of sanctions training courses for senior UN diplomats and officials, plus regular consultations with the UN and member states on the redesign of UN targeted sanctions to complement mediation and negotiation processes...."

Read more on Professor Biersteker’s award selection.