Ana Rita Marcelino and Marta Ramilo Abrantes, both from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the NOVA University of Lisbon, are the winners – ex aequo – of the second edition of the FLAD Political Science Award, which rewards the best master’s thesis in the areas of Political Science and International Relations. The masters win this edition of the award with the master’s theses “«Solidarisch mit CDS in Portugal»: the international action of the CDU and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in the Portuguese democratization (1974-1976)” and “Scientific Diplomacy, Portugal and the European Project”, respectively.

Rita Marcelino dos Santos completed her master’s degree in 2024 from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the NOVA University of Lisbon. She will start her PhD in Modern and Contemporary History at ISCTE in September 2024. The master’s thesis, which was chosen by the jury, was supervised by Prof. Ana Mónica Teixeira and Prof. Nuno Severiano Teixeira.

Marta Ramilo Abrantes obtained a master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations also from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the NOVA University of Lisbon, in 2023. She is a Researcher and Professor at the Centre for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research (IN+) and at the Department of Chemical Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico. Her master’s thesis was supervised by Prof. Raquel Vaz Pinto and Prof. Ana Santos Pinto.

The FLAD Political Science Award distinguishes students who have completed a master’s degree at a Portuguese university in the fields of Political Science and/or International Relations, and whose dissertation reveals potential for scientific research in their area of study, offering participation in the next congress of the American Political Association (APSA), which takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from September 5 to 8.

A jury made up of Rita Faden, President of FLAD, Miguel Monjardino, Visiting Professor, Instituto de Estudos Políticos at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, and Madalena Meyer Resende, Professor at Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas at Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, evaluated the applications.

In the first edition, the FLAD Political Science Prize awarded Bruno Rocha, PhD student at NOVA FCSH with the master’s thesis: “A Nation in a World of Status: The Echoes of the Representations of the ‘German Nation’ in the Practices of Seeking International Status.” Bruno Rocha traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to participate in the international congress of the International Political Science Association (IPSA).