By Susan Peterson

Gazette Staff

It is not the first time a distinguished award has been bestowed upon Stanley Hoffmann, former chairman of the Center for European Studies.

But this new honor, the Balzan Award for Political Science: Contemporary International Relations from the International Balzan Foundation of Italy and Switzerland, brings yet another distinction befitting Hoffmann, C. Douglas Dillon Professor in French Civilization, who has devoted his career to studying the politics of France and international relations.

The International Balzan Foundation was established in 1956 by Angela Lina Balzan, who died in 1957, leaving the large fortune she inherited from her father to the organization she had created. The foundation's aims are to recognize deserving humanitarian and cultural work throughout the world, regardless of nationality, race, or religion.

At a ceremony he will attend in Rome on Nov. 19, Hoffmann's name will be added to a list of previous winners, including Ernst Mayr, Samuel Eliot Morison, Mother Teresa, Jean Piaget, and Pope John XXIII.

"I've never received anything quite like it," said Hoffmann, who has been teaching at Harvard since 1955. "It's nice to have recognition in this field, because international relations is much more of an autonomous field in America than in Europe."

Hoffmann explained that although he has been recognized for his work on France, he has not been honored by a European body as a whole, and the judges panel consists of members from different European countries.

Other international awards Hoffmann has received include the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit, presented last February by President Roman Herzog of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1994, he became an Officer of France's Legion of Honor, where he is also a citizen.

Harvard colleague and friend Dennis Thompson, associate provost and the Alfred North Whitehead Professor of Political Philosophy, believes the Balzan Prize is well-deserved.

"Stanley is one of those rare scholars whose extraordinary theoretical intelligence is matched by his equally remarkable practical wisdom," Thompson said. "And he has applied both with great insight to an astonishing range of challenging problems in international relations, European politics, and political theory."

The International Balzan Foundation prizes are awarded for Literature; Moral Sciences and the Arts; Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences and Medicine; and a special prize for Humanity, Peace and Brotherhood among peoples.