Political science professor named distinguished scholar by International Studies Association 

Laura Roselle, professor of political science and policy studies, will receive the award at the association's annual convention in February which will feature a panel discussion about her scholarship. 

The International Studies Association has announced its selection of Elon Professor Laura Roselle as the recipient of its Distinguished Scholar Award for her scholarship and research in the area of international communications.

Laura Roselle, professor of political science and policy studies
The award, bestowed by the association’s International Communications Section, will be presented to Roselle, a professor of political science and policy studies at Elon, at its annual convention in February. The award recognizes Roselle’s place among the top scholars in her field, and will be accompanied by a panel discussion of her work and research during the convention next year.

“This is something that I never thought I would have the opportunity to be competitive for,” Roselle said. “I was really surprised to win it, and really honored to win it because I respect this group so much.”

The recognition as a distinguished scholar follows another from the ISA — Roselle won the best book award from the association’s International Communication Division in 2016 for “Strategic Narratives, Communication Power and the New World Order,” a book she co-authored with Alister Miskimmon and Ben O’Loughlin.

“Her work in analyzing strategic narratives is truly groundbreaking, and is in the best tradition of combining communication and international relations scholarship,” her nomination for the Distinguished Scholar Award noted. “Her publications in this field give added visibility not only to this topic but also to international communication research more broadly. In addition, her service to the field is illustrated by her work as an editor of the journal Media, War and Conflict, and as an editor of an important new Routledge series in ‘Global Information, Politics, and Society.”

Roselle has been involved with the International Studies Association for more than 20 years, and previously served as president of the International Communications Section. “It really has been a home to me — an intellectual home for me,” Roselle said. “I think for young scholars, and I know it was true for me, you have to find your place, and people who are doing work that you think is interesting.”

Roselle joined the faculty at Elon in 1993 and previously served as an assistant director at The Carter Center of Emory University in Atlanta. Along with multiple scholarly publications, she has offered written testimony to the UK House of Lords Select Committee on Soft Power and UK Influence and was named a University Distinguished Scholar by Elon in 2009.

She is currently finalizing a new edited volume she co-edited with Miskimmon and O’Loughlin, “Forging the World: Strategic Narratives and International Relations,” that is to be published by the University of Michigan Press in 2017.