Thanks to Mike Horowitz’s hard work, we now have a list of the finalists in each relevant category of the 2013 Outstanding Achievement in International Studies Weblogging Awards, or what will, despite my best efforts, likely be known as the “Duckies.”

We employed a simple Borda-count rule where the value of a vote was n-(r-1), in which n is the number of finalists a voter can rank and r is the rank a voter assigned. Hence, in “Best Blog (Group)” voters ranked 3 choices. A rank of “1” was worth 3 points (3-[1-1]), while a rank of “3” was worth 1 point (3-[3-1]). An important indicator of the strength of the field: every nominee wound up with point totals in at least the double digits.

In one case (“Best Blog (Individual)”), the difference separating the 6th and 7th place finishes was less than 0.2% — an effective tie — so seven nominees will be considered for that award. In another (“Best Blog Post”), the difference separating fifth and sixth was also less than 0.2%, so six nominees will be considered for that award.

All finalists are listed in alphabetical order.

Best Blog (Group): Abu Muqawama, Crooked Timber, and The Disorder of Things.

Best Blog (Individual): Abu Aardvark’s Middle East Blog, Chris Blattman, Dart-Throwing Chimp, Daniel Drezner, Phil Arena’s Blog, Slouching Toward Columbia, and Steve Walt.

Most Promising New Blog: Grand Blog Tarkin, Political Violence @ A Glance, The Smoke-Filled Room, and Suffragio.

Best Blog Post: Phil Arena, “Measuring Military Capabilities” (Phil Arena’s Blog), Robert Farley, “American Airpower = Smart Power?” (The Diplomat), Amelia Hoover Green, Dara Kay Cohen, and Elisabeth Jean Wood, “Is Wartime Rape Declining On a Global Scale? We Don’t Know — And It Doesn’t Matter” (Political Violence @ a Glance), John M. Hobson, “Eurocentrism, Racism: What’s in a Word?” (The Disorder of Things), Xavier Marquez, “Ten Thousand Melodies Cannot Express Our Boundless Hot Love For You: The Cult of Personality in Mao’s China” (Abandoned Footnotes), and Erik Voeten, “What Good is a UN Human Rights Treaty?” (The Monkey Cage).

I have to admit that I found committing the results to a blog post rather painful. The nominees were terrific; many “just missed” being among the finalists. Indeed, after all is said and done, we’ll publish a thorough debriefing on how everything went and ask for suggestions about how (and whether) to do this again in 2014.

The panel of judges will be announced, I hope, in short order.

Thanks to everyone who voted! Turnout was much higher than we anticipated.