SSS Faculty Member Wins Prestigious Hague Journal of Diplomacy Book Award 2026

The School of Social Sciences is pleased to announce that Assoc Prof Dylan Loh, from our PPGA programme has been awarded the 2026 Hague Journal of Diplomacy (HJD) Book Award for his book, China's Rising Foreign Ministry: Practices and Representations of Assertive Diplomacy (Stanford University Press, 2024).

Presented by The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, the award recognises the best book on the theory and practice of diplomacy published between 2023 and 2025. The selection was made by an international jury comprising members of the HJD Advisory Board and senior scholars from across five continents.

The jury praised the book as a landmark contribution to diplomatic studies, highlighting its rare ethnographic insights into Chinese diplomacy under Xi Jinping, its rigorous theoretical grounding, and its significant contribution to understanding diplomatic practice in contemporary international relations.

Drawing on extensive fieldwork and practice theory, the book examines the evolving role of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and offers fresh perspectives on the conduct of diplomacy in a changing global landscape.

This award is a significant international recognition of A/P Dylan Loh's scholarship and reflects the School's commitment to advancing impactful research on global affairs and international relations.