In 2022, The Loop inaugurated a Best Blog prize to reward a contribution of exceptional value. We have now conferred our second £500 prize on the author of a blog piece judged by our independent jury to be the best in that calendar year. Managing Editor Kate Hawkins presents the longlisted articles — and the jury reveals what gave our 2023 winner the edge
By awarding this annual prize, our team can spotlight articles with particular relevance to current events; honour pieces likely to influence political opinion; and highlight those which might have particular appeal to a readership beyond academe.
With each new year, Loop editors open a Teams channel on which we record what we consider to be the most outstanding contributions to the blog site. By Christmas 2023, our team had assembled a longlist of thirteen impressive pieces to put forward for this year's award. We shared this longlist with our three-member independent jury. Jurors then scrupulously assessed each article, awarding marks out of ten for originality, readability, and real-world significance / relevance.
Prize rules dictate that if a series-linked article wins, we may not nominate pieces in that series the following year. Last year's prize-winner was Reginald Oduor's excellent contribution to Jean-Paul Gagnon's thread on the 🦋 Science of Democracy. That series was therefore ruled out of the running in 2023.
We selected jury members for their skill in communicating scholarly concepts to a non-academic readership:
 | Marianna Karakoulaki University of Birmingham | Marianna is a researcher, journalist and photographer based in Cambridge, UK. Her research focuses on border violence, death, and forced migration at Europe’s East Mediterranean migratory route. |
 | Chris Gilson London School of Economics and Political Science | Chris is the Managing Editor of the US politics and policy blog USAPP. He was previously Managing Editor of LSE's British Politics and Policy blog, and of LSE EUROPP, both for LSE's Public Policy Group. In 2012, Chris won a UK Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Award for Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year. |
 | Danielle Pullan MPIfG, Cologne | Danielle primarily researches abortion policy and abortion access in Europe, with a focus on the perspectives of abortion providers. She also works on gendered behaviour in parliaments and other topics related to reproductive justice. |
Jurors scored each longlisted piece independently, against each of the three key qualities. Their score card resulted in this shortlist of the top three highest-scoring articles:
  | Why Milei won’t succeed in repealing Argentina’s abortion policy Javier Milei’s electoral victory ushered in another right-wing populist win in Latin America. The new president threatens to undo a major achievement for women’s rights — Argentina’s abortion legalisation. Yet Milei might not succeed. Camilla Reuterswärd and Cora Fernandez Anderson explain why the radical populist will likely lose the battle over abortion. |
 | 🌈 Left-wing populism, democratic erosion, and patriarchy Scholars and journalists tend to focus on the misogyny of right-wing autocrats. But Jennifer Piscopo argues that we mustn't overlook the patriarchal attitudes of left-wing populists. They may not directly attack women and gender minorities, but they also roll back gender equality gains. |
 | 🎭 Black, Queer, Trans, Disabled Lives Matter! Democracy needs to recognise and empower our multiple identities. Brandon Mack draws on his activist experience with Black Lives Matter to argue for intersectionality and diverse histories as the backbone of democracy. |
When all the scores were in, Brandon Mack's contribution to our 🎭 Democratic Transformations series nudged just ahead of the competition. In their laudatory comments, the jury offered:
'Brandon Mack’s blog piece examining Queer, Trans, and Disabled lives in the Black Lives Matter movement is a compelling, gut-wrenching read. His article, published at a time when the struggle for social rights was upstaged by war, tackles issues often ignored in conventional studies of social movements. What sets Brandon’s piece apart is the way he blends theoretical critique of democracy with personal narratives of activism. His post is a call for democratic societies to pay attention to the intersectionality of social movements – and, specifically, to the fight and contributions of communities too often ignored.
Writing about the intersection of individual and collective identities is not an easy task. However, the author’s personal narrative – rare in academic writing – allows Brandon to call out the weaponisation of democracy against people’s identities and experiences. Through first-hand experience, Brandon shows how activism can challenge current systems.
Conventional political science often struggles to accept personal narratives. Brandon’s article shows how personal experiences are deeply embedded in the political world, and how they can affect structures beyond our control.'
On learning of his win, Brandon told us:
I am incredibly proud and honored to receive this award. My hope is that this blog helps us to critically think about how we move from being just an ally to an accomplice and continue to move in a way where we are valuing each other more.
Brandon Mack, winner, Loop Best Blog prize 2023
🎭 Democratic Transformations editor Hans Asenbaum was of course delighted to hear about Brandon's win. When we asked Hans what inspired him to commission Brandon for his series, he told us:
I collaborated with Brandon, along with several other Black Lives Matter activists, in a co-theorising project developing a theory of a living democracy. I was inspired by how Brandon combines his profession as educator with his activism, raising others up and supporting them in being whoever they want to be.
Hans Asenbaum, 🎭 Democratic Transformations series editor
The Loop extends its heartfelt thanks to all nominated and shortlisted authors, and to this year's worthy winner, Brandon Mack.
