At the EDA annual conference held last 21 march in Brussels, the First EDA-Egmont PhD Prize in European Defence, Security and Strategy has been awarded to Dr Bejamin Pohl .

The EDA-Egmont PhD Prize in European defence, security and strategy is intended to encourage and stimulate European research in the context of European defence and security. The award targets the findings of research that have been carried out in the framework of a defended and approved doctoral thesis at a recognised academic institution in a Member State of the European Defence Agency.

The Prize is awarded by the EDA in partnership with the Egmont Institute. The aim is to introduce a new award that acknowledges academic excellence while putting it in a European context. The unique partnership enables Egmont to ensure academic substance while the European Defence Agency exposes the research to the heart of European policy making.

The jury of the EDA-Egmont Prize, composed of Claude-France Arnould, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA), General Patrick de Rousiers, Chairman of the EU Military Committee (EUMC), Dr Antonio Missiroli, Director of the EU Institute of Security Studies (EUISS), Prof. Jolyon Howorth, University of Yale, Prof. Richard Whitman, University of Kent, Dr Hilmar Linnenkamp, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, and chaired by Prof. Sven Biscop, Egmont, had a difficult task assessing no less than ten PhD dissertations of high quality, but arrived at an unanimous decision.

The jury especially commends Dr Pohl’s work for asking a “key question” about the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), and answering it in a very persuasive manner. His findings are presented with admirable control and academic objectivity, giving full weight to a range of theoretical approaches in order to test their validity. The result is a very convincing thesis about the “drivers” of the CSDP.

The dissertation was defended at the University of Leiden on 27 September 2012, under the supervision of Prof. Rob De Wijk.

During the day, Herman van Rompuy, preident of the European Council, adressed the floor:

 

the website of EDA