Conrad Kunadu awarded the Deirdre and Paul Malone Thesis Prize
DPhil student Conrad Kunadu has been awarded the Deirdre and Paul Malone Prize in International Relations (IR) for his outstanding performance in the MPhil in IR examinations and thesis.
The Malone Prize (£2,000) is awarded to postgraduate students in International Relations at Oxford who have completed the MPhil in International Relations and intend to proceed to the DPhil.
It also aims to reward the quality of the candidate’s proposal for doctoral work; and to provide support for the doctoral research of the recipient.
Conrad's thesis – 'Proteins to Paradigms: How Technology Shapes the Bioweapons Governance Regime' – uses a mixed-methods content analysis to explore four consequential cases of biotechnology advancements and one null case in order to understand how these developments have contributed to the securitisation of bioweapons.
In it, Conrad concludes that biotechnological developments have driven only modest securitisation, with a core dynamic being that the ubiquitous, processual, and dual-use nature of synthetic biology itself constrains securitisation
Conrad completed DPIR’s MPhil IR course in July 2025 and began the DPhil course in October 2025.
It took a village to produce my thesis, and I'm grateful to my thought partners, supervisor, interviewees, loved ones, the ESRC GUDTP, and the BAF Scholarship.
It's truly a privilege to research an issue area I think is exceptionally interesting, truly consequential, and shaping the world as we speak."
Conrad's research examines how emerging technologies shape their own governance, with a particular emphasis on the implications of biotechnological development for the governance of bioweapons.
The Deirdre and Paul Malone Prize in International Relations was established by David M. Malone, one-time president of the International Peace Institute, who was awarded a DPhil in International Relations from Oxford in 1997 with a thesis on decision-making in the UN Security Council. The prize was named in honour of his parents and is awarded annually.
