We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 Marco Lam Prize. In honour of the late Kuan (Marco) Long Lam, the Department established this prize for outstanding blogging in 2019.

Marco was an outstanding student, who excelled in his coursework and demonstrated a capacity for original research. Marco was not only an excellent student. He was also a vital member of the LSE community, who contributed actively to the life of the School and developed strong bonds of friendship with many of his classmates. Whether it was giving a talk to younger students about his experience working at an NGO, or sharing his thoughts through blogs and social media, Marco’s inspiring contributions were felt by all those who came into contact with him at the School. Marco was in many ways a citizen of the world. He realised that lived experiences were an essential complement to classroom learning and he made the most of opportunities to study abroad, such as the summer he spent in Kathmandu working as an intern at the Centre for Migration and International Relations.

Marco was a keen blogger, and we are happy to be able to commemorate him through this prize. This year, students were asked to write a blog on the theme of What do the responses to the global pandemic tell us about the state of the international order?

First place was awarded to Matthew Prescod (1^st year BSc International Relations), second place went to Nazifa Azad (1^st year BSc International Relations) and third place to Sol Partidge (1^st year BSc Politics and International Relations). Each of these blogs provides a different perspective on the question, with all contributors reflecting on their personal relationship to the field’s aims, practice and utility.

We encourage you to read each of the blogs below, and to engage in the discussion in the comments of this blog entry:

Matthew Prescod

Nazifa Azad

Sol Partridge

Please note that the views expressed and linked to on this blog are those of the authors, and not the position of the Department of International Relations blog, nor of the London School of Economics.