Professor Elidor Mëhilli’s book From Stalin to Mao: Albania and the Socialist World has been awarded two major prizes by the Association for Slavic, East European & Eurasian Studies (ASEEES), the largest academic organization devoted to the study of Russia, Eurasia and Eastern Europe. Published in November of 2017 by Cornell University Press, the book was celebrated for its comprehensive historical perspective on one of Europe’s longest but least understood dictatorships and its exhaustive use of previously restricted archives. The book explores socialist globalization through the lens of Albania under Yugoslav, Soviet, Eastern bloc and Chinese patronage, based on extensive archival research in Tirana, Berlin, London, Moscow, Rome and Washington.
Professor Mëhilli’s book was awarded both the Davis Center Book Prize in Political and Social Studies and the Marshall D. Shulman Book Prize. The latter award recognizes outstanding works dealing with international relations or foreign policy involving the former Soviet Union or Eastern Europe, while the former highlights work focusing on anthropology, political science, sociology or geography of a similar region. Both awards are given annually, and were presented to Professor Mëhilli in a ceremony on Friday, December 7, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts as part of the ASEEES Annual Convention.
Professor Mëhilli received a PhD from Princeton University before joining the Hunter College Department of History in 2013. He is known for his information-rich lectures, his generosity towards his students and his rigorous scholarship.
