Olivier de France’s book on geopolitics of Europe shortlisted for top book prize

Olivier de France, a Dahrendorf Scholar at Saint Antony’s College, has been shortlisted for the Jacques Delors Prize for the Better Understanding of Europe. His book, entitled The Geopolitics of Europe, was published by Eyrolles in 2021.

The purpose of the book was to dust off some of the traditional approaches to the European story, in the hope of making the study of Europe as alive as Europe itself. The text features maps, imagery, British novelists, French rappers and Dutch philosopher Benedict Spinoza, whose writings Olivier explores in his doctoral work at the Department of Politics and International Relations.

The book draws in part on work undertaken within the Dahrendorf programme at the European Studies Centre, which is led by Professors Timothy Garton Ash and Paul Betts. The project aims at clarifying how Europeans (particularly the younger generation) see Europe from the inside, and reverses the gaze to study how Europe is perceived from the outside.

Olivier’s book was one of eight shortlisted for the prize.

He said: “Jacques Delors’ legacy is key to understanding Europe’s fortunes over the past few decades. It is serendipitous but intimidating to see this little book shortlisted for a prize that bears his name. I owe a debt of intellectual gratitude to the scholars of the European Studies Centre, particularly Professors Nicolaïdis and Garton Ash.”

Olivier researches political theories, territories and practices in Europe, and is currently probing the history of relational worldviews in European political theory. He recently edited a journal volume on the Geopolitics of Nature, which features a paper on “The Geopolitics of Nature and the Nature of Geopolitics” alongside contributions by Bruno Latour, Philippe Descola and others.