The Paul Birdsall Prize in European Military and Strategic History was established in 1985 by a generous gift from Professor Hans Gatzke, who remained anonymous until his death. The Birdsall Prize is awarded biennially for the most important work published in English on European military or strategic history since 1870.
Preference will be given to the international aspects of military history (military/diplomatic), but the impact of technological developments, strategic planning, and military events on society—political, economic, social—will also qualify. Purely technical studies, divorced from historical context, will not. The current prize amount is $1,000.
The general rules for submission are:
- Preference will be given to early-career academics, but established scholars and nonacademic candidates will not be excluded.
- Books published in English and bearing a copyright of 2024 or 2025 are eligible for the 2026 prize.
- Nomination submissions may be made by an author or by a publisher. Publishers may submit as many entries as they wish. Authors or publishers may submit the same book for multiple AHA prizes.
- Nominators must complete an online prize submission form for each book submitted. Once you fill out the form you will receive an email with the committee’s contact information.
- One copy of each entry must be sent to each committee member and clearly labeled “Birdsall Prize Entry.” Print copies preferred unless otherwise indicated. If only e-copy is available, please contact review committee members beforehand to arrange submission format.
Please Note: Entries must be received by May 15, 2026, to be eligible for the 2026 competition. Entries will not be returned. Recipients will be announced on the AHA website in October 2026 and recognized during a ceremony at the January 2027 AHA annual meeting in New Orleans.
For questions, please contact the Prize Administrator.
Paul Birdsall
Paul Birdsall (d. 1970) was a historian of European diplomatic and military affairs and a foreign service officer.
Past Recipients
Current Recipient
Nicholas Mulder, Cornell University
The Economic Weapon: The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War (Yale Univ. Press)