MA thesis prize

On Thursday 17 December 2009, Prof.dr. Henk Schulte Nordholt (Chairman of the IIAS Board) awarded Ms Marloes van Houten (University of Amsterdam) the first IIAS MA Thesis Prize in the field of Asian Studies written at a Dutch university.

Marlous van Houten won the prize, which consists of an IIAS fellowship, for her thesis entitled "Nepal's Civil War and its Impact. Conflict impact, social capital and resilient institutions in the CPN-Maoist heartland communities of Nepal".

Her thesis, which was supervised by Prof.dr. Gerd Junne (University of Amsterdam), is a successful combination of political science and anthropology. Marloes van Houten investigates the post conflict situation in a relatively isolated region in Nepal. She combines a theoretically informed political anlysis with a good sense for local variations and a bottom up approach which is illustrated by moving life histories, while she also provides relevant policy recommendations. An impressive achievement.