Books examining geopolitics, democracy shortlisted for Lionel Gelber Prize

TORONTO – Publications exploring contemporary geopolitics, the future of authoritarianism and the growing number of dictators challenging democracy are some of the finalists in the running for a Canadian award for books on global affairs.

Five books have been shortlisted for the 2023 Lionel Gelber Prize, which is worth $50,000.

The prize board says this year’s shortlisted books examine the role of technology and tyranny in shaping the 21st century and help the public to understand the recent past and possible futures.

This year’s finalists are Chris Miller’s “Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology”; Susan L. Shirk’s “Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise”; Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way’s “Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism”; J. Bradford DeLong’s “Slouching Toward Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century”; and Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman’s “Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century.”

The Lionel Gelber Prize was founded in 1989 by the Canadian diplomat and is presented annually by the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

Each of the authors will be interviewed for the weekly Lionel Gelber Prize podcast beginning next month to be released on the prize’s website, Munk School’s YouTube Channel and on Apple podcasts with the winner being announced on April 4.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2023.

SHARE: