Thandika Mkandawire Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in African Political Economy and Economic Development

The African Programme on Rethinking Development Economics (Aporde) and the South African Research Chair in Industrial Development (SARChI Industrial Development) are delighted to announce the inaugural Thandika Mkandawire Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in African Political Economy and Economic Development. This prize is to be awarded annually to recognise outstanding research papers by African scholars. A second award, the Thandika Mkandawire Prize for Young Scholars in African Political Economy and Economic Development, is specifically for young researchers.

The call is now open for submissions for the 2021 award. Submissions close on 30 June 2021.

The awards:

Thandika Mkandawire Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in African Political Economy and Economic Development

• The author/s of the winning submission will receive an award of $6 000 and a certificate. There are no conditions attached to the utilisation of the prize.
• The winner/s will be invited to present the winning paper at Aporde, and to attend any lectures of interest.

Thandika Mkandawire Prize for Young Scholars in African Political Economy and Economic Development

• The author/s of the winning submission will receive an award of $2 000 and a certificate. There are no conditions attached to the utilisation of the prize.
• The winner/s will automatically be invited to attend Aporde 2021 (should they not already be Aporde alumni).
• Should the winner/s wish, they will receive mentorship from a leading scholar linked to Aporde, on preparing the research for publication.

The winners will be announced in early August. The decisions of the selection committees are final and no correspondence will be entered into. The selection committees reserve the right not to make awards.

Submissions will be judged on the following criteria:

1. Quality of the research (in particular: originality and contribution to knowledge, rigour, and clarity and coherence).
2. Alignment with the theme of African political economy and economic development, and with the intellectual legacy of Thandika Mkandawire.

Eligibility:

1. Authors must be citizens of an African country.
2. For the Young Scholars award, applicants must be under 35 years of age as of 30 June 2021.
3. Submissions may be co-authored, with no more than two authors in total. In the case of co-authored submissions, both authors must meet the citizenship eligibility criterion, and the age criterion in the case of the Young Scholars
4. The research may be published or unpublished. If already published, it should not have been published before 2020.
5. All submissions should be between 8-9 000 words in total, inclusive of all references, footnotes/endnotes, abstract, tables and figures, and appendices.
6. Papers may be from any relevant disciplinary background and may use any methodological approach.

Submissions must include the following:

1. Original research paper, in word format, without any identifying information (such as names of authors or acknowledgments), with word length strictly as per the above.
2. A signed cover page stating: the title of the paper; names and contact details of author/s; abstract; acknowledgments; total word length; an indication of which award the submission is for; a declaration that the paper is an original piece of research; and details of publication (where papers have already been published). The cover page should be signed by both authors in the case of co-authored submissions.
3. CVs of all authors.
4. Copy of passport or national identity document for each author

Submissions should be sent to koketsom@uj.ac.za by the closing date of 30 June 2021. No late, incomplete or non-compliant applications will be considered.

About Professor Thandika Mkandawire

Thandika Mkandawire (1940-2020) was a Malawian political economist who made fundamental contributions to thinking around African economic development. He held various positions, including as Director of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) and Executive Secretary of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). At the time of his passing, he held a Chair at the London School of Economics, having previously been a professor at universities in Zimbabwe and Sweden. He passed away in Sweden, where he had lived for many years.