The Best Dissertation Award is sponsored by the Urban and Local Politics Section of the American Political Science Association. It is given annually for the best dissertation on urban politics accepted in the previous year. Studies can be comparative or focused on the U.S. The award comes with a $250 prize.
Nomination Instructions: Electronic copies of dissertations completed and approved in 2023 should be sent to each committee member. They should include a copy of the dissertation and a nomination letter from the author’s academic department or supervisor.
Award Description: The Best Dissertation Award is given annually for the best dissertation on urban politics accepted in the previous year. The award comes with a $250 prize. Electronic or hard copies of dissertations completed and approved in 2022 should be sent to each committee member.
Nomination Deadline: March 15, 2024
Award Committee:
Brian Hamel (brian.hamel@unt.edu) University of North Texas
Vladimir Koga (koga18@osu.edu) Ohio State University
Jessie Trudeau (jtrudeau@syr.edu) Syracuse University
Deadline for nominations: March 15, 2024
Award committee (2024):
- Tim Weaver, University of Albany, tweaver@albany.edu
- Zack Taylor, University of Western Ontario, zack.taylor@uwo.ca
Recipients:
2023 | Jessie Trudeau (Syracuse), “Machine Gun Politics: Why Politicians Cooperate with Criminal Groups”Honorable Mention:Marco Rosaire Rossi (University of Illinois Chicago),“Municipal Governments and the Non-Occurrence of an American Socialist Party.” |
2022 | Jae Yeon Kim (KDI), “Essays on the Politics of Solidarity in Multiracial America.” University of California, Berkeley, 2021Emily Rains (Louisiana State University), “Negotiating Informality: Essays on Policy Needs and Political Problem-Solving in Indian Slums.” Duke University, 2021 |
2021 | Marshail Malik, Harvard University. “The Microfoundations of Identity Politics in Pakistan’s Megacity.” Stanford University, 2020Honorable Mention:Tanu Kumar, William & Mary. “How Welfare Shapes Beneficiaries’ Political and Economic Behavior: Evidence from Two Programs in India.” University of California at Berkeley, 2020. |
2020 | Dr. Camila Cordeiro Andrade Gripp, Yale Law School. “New Dogs, Old Tricks: The Inner Workings of an Attempt at Police Reform in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,” New School for Social Research, 2019 |
2019 | Peter Bucchianeri, Vanderbilt University. “The Organization of Conflict in American Local Government.” Harvard University, 2018.Honorable Mentions: Elizabeth DeYoung, “Girdwood Barracks: Power, Politics and Planning in the Post-Ceasefire City.” University of Liverpool, 2018Juan Guillermo Albarracín Dierolf, Universidad Icesi in Cali, Colombia. “Criminalized Electoral Politics: The Socio-Political Foundations of Electoral Coercion in Democratic Brazil.” University of Notre Dame, 2018 |
2018 | No award given. |
2017 | Iza (Yue) Ding, University of Pittsburgh “Invisible Sky, Visible State: Environmental Governance and Political Support in China.” Harvard University, 2016 |
2016 | Zack Taylor, University of Western Ontario “The Politics of Metropolitan Development: Institutions, Interests, and Ideas in the Making of Urban Governance in the United States and Canada, 1800-2000.” University of Toronto, 2015 |
2015 | Alisha Holland, Harvard University “Forbearance as Redistribution: Enforcement Politics in Urban Latin America.” Harvard University, 2014 |
2014 | Adam Auerbach, University of Wisconsin – Madison “Demanding Development: Democracy, Community Governance, and Public Goods Provision in India’s Urban Slums.” |
2013 | Eleanor Gao, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor “Diverse but Not Divisive: Tribal Diversity and Public Goods Provision in Jordan” |
2012 | Daniel Bliss, Illinois Institute of Technology “Defining the Path to Growth: Small Town Governance and Economic Development in an Age of Globalization” |
2011 | Quinton Mayne, Harvard University “The Satisfied Citzen: Participation, Influence, and Public Perceptions of Democratic Performance” |
2010 | Joshua Sapotichne, Michigan State University “Reconstructing National Urban Policy: Agenda Setting in Complex Policy Areas” |
2009 | James Ingram III, University of California, San Diego “The Rules of the Ruling: Charter Reforn in Los Angeles, 1850-2008” |
2007 | Paru Shah, Macalester College “The Politics and Policy Implications of Latino Representation in Education” |
2005 | Christine Palus, University of Michigan-Dearborn |
2004 | Lynette Rawlings, George Washington University “The Determinants of Cooperation among Local Governments in Metropolitan Areas” (Supervisor: Hal Wolman) |
2003 | Steven Johnson, Portland State University “The Transformation of Civic Institutions and Practices in Portland, Oregon, 1960-1999” |
2001 | Mara Sidney, Rutgers University “Linking National Policy Designs and Local Action: A Comparison of Fair Housing and Community Reinvestment Policies” |
2000 | Patrick Joyce, Harvard University |
1998 | Timothy Krebs, University Of Chicago “The Politics of Chicago City Council Elections, 1979-1995” |
1995 | Gerald Gamm, Howard University “Neighborhood Roots: Exodus and Stability in Boston, 1870-1990” |
1995 | Guy Stuart, University of Chicago “The Social Construction of Risk in Mortgage Lending” |
1991 | Nancy Burns, Harvard University “Making Politics Permanent: The Formation of American Local Governments” |
1990 | Carol Pierannunzi, University of Georgia “The Role of Local Government in Land-Use Politics: Testing and Developing Models of Local Decision Making On Zoning Issues” |