2025 Best Graduate Student and Early Career Scholars Paper Award in Druze Studies

2025-10-18

The Award Committee for the 2025 Best Graduate Student and Early Career Scholars Paper in Druze Studies—comprising Drs. Hussam S. Timani, Rabah Halabi, and Samer Traboulsi—reviewed all eligible submissions to this year’s conference.

The committee based its decision on the following criteria:

  • Originality: The paper introduces innovative ideas, approaches, or findings that significantly advance the field of Druze Studies.
  • Methodology: The research demonstrates rigorous methodology, with clear, logical, and consistent argumentation.
  • Significance & Impact: The findings have the potential to shape future research and contribute meaningfully to the scholarly discourse.
  • Clarity: The paper is well-written, organized, and accessible, enhancing reader engagement and understanding.

We are pleased to announce that the 2025 Druze Studies Award for Best Paper has been awarded to: “The Role of Customary Law in a Context of Legal Vacuum: A Case Study of the Suwayda Governorate, Syria (1925–2025)”, by Mael Baummar and Nawras Aziz. The paper was presented in the conference as part of panel 6, which was a roundtable of experts on: “The Syrian Druze: From the 1925 Revolt to 2025 Challenges.”

The paper sheds light on a highly significant issue: the dual nature of the Druze relationship with central authority throughout history—not just how the central authority has dealt with them, as most previous studies have emphasized. This perspective presents a new and refreshing angle. Equally impressive is the comprehensive and well-structured theoretical framework the authors employ. It is grounded in two key premises: first, the historical development of the Druze community in Syria; and second, the tendency among certain minorities to resolve disputes through customary practices that align with, or complement, the central government’s laws—particularly in contexts marked by the weakness or even absence of central authority. The selected paper offers a new perspective on the Druze in Syria and advances an original argument that will significantly advance future Druze studies. The paper demonstrates a theoretical and methodological sophistication, and the argument is focused, logical, and will have significant implications for future research.