Professor Noel Anderson Wins 2026 Conflict Research Society Book of the Year Prize
The Department of Political Science is proud to congratulate Professor Noel Anderson on winning the 2026 Conflict Research Society (CRS) Book of the Year Prize for his book Wars Without End: Competitive Intervention, Escalation Control, and Protracted Conflict, published by Oxford University Press.
The CRS Book of the Year Prize is one of the most respected international awards in conflict and peace studies, recognizing outstanding research that advances the field in meaningful ways. This year, the prize committee received over 40 nominations from researchers, institutions, practitioners, and publishers around the world before selecting a shortlist of four books. Wars Without End was chosen as the winner based on its contribution to the field, policy relevance, methodological rigour, innovation, and quality of writing.
At the heart of the book is a question that shapes much of contemporary global politics: why do so many civil wars drag on for years, even decades? Professor Anderson's answer centres on what he calls competitive intervention, a dynamic where rival external states support opposing sides of a conflict simultaneously. The result is a pattern of calibrated support that keeps local partners in the fight but never tips the balance far enough to bring a war to a close. The book draws on case studies of Angola, Afghanistan, and Syria, alongside original data, fieldwork, interviews, and declassified intelligence reports to build its argument.
The prize committee singled out Professor Anderson's work for identifying a precise mechanism through which external involvement prolongs war rather than resolving it, describing the book as a timely and important contribution that deepens our understanding of the international dynamics sustaining protracted civil wars.
"It is the kind of acknowledgement every researcher hopes for but never takes for granted."
— Professor Noel Anderson
Professor Anderson reflected on the recognition with characteristic thoughtfulness. "It is a great honour. Professionally, it validates the years of work behind the book, and personally, it is the kind of acknowledgement every researcher hopes for but never takes for granted. I am sincerely grateful."
We congratulate Professor Anderson on this well-deserved recognition and look forward to seeing the continued impact of his work. For more information about the book, visit the Oxford University Press website.
