2018 Award

On June 18, 2018, the board of Friends of MacDonald • The Dutch Connection decided to grant the 2018 Ranald MacDonald Award to the non-fiction debut The Dawn of Eurasia (Penguin, 2018) by Bruno Maçães, political scientist from Harvard, former Minister of State for European Affairs in Portugal, attached to universities in Berlin and Beijing, and advisor in London. Although his book has received abundant praise, it has so far not been awarded a prize. The award ceremony took place October 11. NRC journalist Caroline de Gruyter spoke the words of praise.
Maçães’ book consists of two parts, ‘the map’ and ‘the journey’. In part one he demonstrates, by amply yet discriminately picking his examples from history, that the current dichotomy between Europe and Asia is a myth. In this era an integrated Eurasia will no longer be stopped by borders. Europe constitutes a peninsula on its fringes, no longer being queen of dreams ‘Europa Regina’. In part two Maçães gives a wonderful account of a six-month journey ‘from Astrachan to Khorgos by the longest possible route’. He transports the reader to an unfamiliar world surrounding the centre of Eurasia, which is already proving to be of great importance, and whose importance will only increase. The laudation was delivered by Caroline de Gruyter, columnist and journalist for the Dutch newspaper NRC, who has reviewed the book in favourable terms.
textlaudatio caroline de gruyter
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