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Chase Peace Prize

The Chase Peace Prize was established at Dartmouth College by Edward M. Chase, a native of Lithuania who emigrated to the United States, settling in Manchester, New Hampshire, until his death, in 1939. A philanthropist of many causes, Mr. Chase established the Peace Prize in order to encourage careful reflection on the causes of war and the prospects for peace in the world.

  • Chase Prize winner Louis Wheatley participates in a panel discussion on his thesis, "Matriotism: American Motherhood in Protest Against WWII, the Vietnam War, and the Iraq War."

Overview

The Chase Peace Prize is awarded to the best senior thesis or culminating project that treats the subject of war, conflict resolution, the prospects and problems of maintaining peace, or other related topics. The thesis or culminating project may fall within any of the divisions of the College. Successful topics might be:

  • An analysis of the representation of war in art, literature, or music
  • A historical or contemporary case study of a particular conflict
  • The analysis of international institutions and their influence on peace promotion
  • A philosophical or ethical analysis of war, either in general or in a specific case
  • The study of the environmental causes and consequences of conflict 
  • A scientific study of weaponry and the impact of technological change on arms races

Submissions should be made in PDF format and may be made by the student or by a faculty member.

The first place winner will be awarded $2,000. Winners will be selected at the end of summer term following submission. 

2024 Awardees

  • Yevheniia Dubrova, "What Remains" A collection of short stories set in Ukraine
  • Jason Acosta Espinosa, "'Hermanas en Armas!' The Women of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, 1979-1992"
  • Eleanor Sullivan, "Explaining the Gap: Why Men Support the Use of Military Force More than Women"

Past Peace Prize Winners

2023

  • Marco Allen, "Ctrl+Alt+Defeat: Assessing The Impact of Cyber Operations in a US-China Conflict"
  • Caleb Benjamin, "Drones in the Age of Conventional Conflict: Assessing Whether Low-Cost Drones Could Destroy Mobile Targets in a US-China Conflict"
  • Bryanna Entwistle, "After the Fall: Human Rights and US Policy Towards the Cambodian Genocide"

2022

  • Olivia Gresham, "Fight or Flight: Ethnic Information Cascades and Military Collapse." 
  • Maya Khanna, "Reimagining Pristine Wilderness: Examining 175 Years of Genocide in America's National Parks."
  • Ben Vagle, "The Balance of Economic Terror: The United States, China, and the Economic Costs of Conflict."

2021

  • Ezekiel Vergara, "Just and Unjust Revolutions: A Theoretical Examination of the Ethics of Revolutions." 
  • Rahul Wunsch, "Jobs and the Economy: A Medium Term Evaluation of the Refugee Crisis in Germany."

2020

  • Samuel Fox, "Predappio's Casa Del Fascio: Fascist Monument to Museum."
  • Ethan Klaris, "To Punish Them and Make Them Very Poor: Morality and Total War on the Southern Plains, 1868-1875."
  • Andrew Sosanya, "Prohibitions & Predictions: The Future of Autonomous Weapons."

Application

The application window for the 2025 Chase Peace Prize will open at the end of spring term. Applicants must submit the following items no later than Friday, June 13, 2025:

  • Senior thesis or culminating project [PDF]
  • A paragraph describing the submission and how it relates to the theme of war and peace

Send your application to global.security@dartmouth.edu