Alan Rosenthal Prize

In the spirit of Alan Rosenthal’s work, this prize is dedicated to encouraging young scholars to study questions that are of importance to legislators and legislative staff and to conduct research that has potential application to strengthening the practice of representative democracy. Topics may be national or subnational in focus and may apply to any country. Preference will be given to comparative legislative research among legislatures in the same country or across countries. The prize is funded by the Trust for Representative Democracy of the National Conference of State Legislatures and the State Legislative Leaders Foundation. See below for additional background.

2023 Winner

Christian Grose, University of Southern California; Pamela Lopez, K Street Consulting; Sara Sadhwani, Pomona College; and Antoine Yoshinaka, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. “Social Lobbying.” The Journal of Politics 84 (1): 367-382. January 2022.

2023 Selection Committee:

Alexander Bolton (Chair), Emory University abolton@emory.edu
Sharece Thrower, Vanderbilt University sharece.d.thrower@vanderbilt.edu
Cynthia Rugeley, University of Minnesota, Duluth crugeley@d.umn.edu

2022 Winner

Alexander Bolton (Emory University) and Sharece Thrower (Vanderbilt University)

Checks in the Balance: Legislative Capacity and the Dynamics of Executive Power. (Princeton University Press 2022)

James Curry, University of Utah
Jim Battista, University of Buffalo
Eleanor Powell, University of Wisconsin.

2016 Winner

James M. Curry of the University of Utah for Legislating in the Dark (University of Chicago Press, 2015).

Selection Committee:

Gisela Sin, University of Illinois
Sunil Ahuja, The Higher Learning Commission
Seth Masket, University of Denver

2015 Winner

Gisela Sin, University of Illinois, Separation of Powers and Legislative Organization, Cambridge University Press

Selection Committee:

Nicholas Carnes, Duke University
Victoria Farrar-Myers, University of Texas at Arlington
Mirjam Dagefoerde, Sciences Po

2014 Winner

Nicholas Carnes, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, White-Collar Government: The Hidden Role of Class in Economic Policy Making, University Of Chicago Press

Selection Committee:
Kristin Kanthak, University of Pittsburgh
Larry Dodd, University of Florida
Nadia Brown, Purdue University

2013 Winner

Kristin Kanthak and George A. Krause, both from  University of Pittsburgh, The Diversity Paradox: Political Parties, Legislatures, and the Organizational Foundations of Representation in America, Oxford University Press

Selection Committee:
Vineeta Yadav, Pennsylvania State University
Catherine Rudder, George Mason University
Sarah Anderson, University of California, Santa Barbara

2012 Winner

Vineeta Yadav, Pennsylvania State University, Political Parties, Business Groups, and Corruption in Developing Countries, Oxford University Press

Selection Committee:
Kristina Miler (chair), University of Maryland
Gail McElroy, Trinity College
Keith E. Hamm, Rice University

2011 Winner

Kristina Miller, University of Maryland, Constituency Representation in Congress: The View from Capitol Hill, Cambridge University Press.

Selection Committee:
Colleen Shogan (chair), Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress
Craig Goodman, Texas Tech University
Susan Carroll, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University

2010 Winner

David C. W. Parker, Montana State University, and Craig Goodman, Texas Tech University, “Making a Good Impression: Resource Allocation, Home Styles and Washington Work,” Legislative Studies Quarterly 34 (Nov. 2009): 493-524.

Selection Committee:
Michele Swers (Chair), Georgetown University
Christopher Berry, University of Chicago
John Griffin, Notre Dame University

2009 Winner

Christopher Berry, University of Chicago, “Piling on: Multilevel Government and the Fiscal Common-Pool,” American Journal of Political Science 52 (Oct. 2008): 802-820.

Selection Committee:
Beth A. Rosenson (chair), University of Florida
David Primo, University of Rochester
Dan Wirls, University of California, Santa Cruz

2008 Winner

David Primo, University of Rochester, Rules and Restraint: Government Spending and the Design of Institutions, University of Chicago Press.

Selection Committee:
James A. Thurber (chair), American University
Nancy Martorano, University of Dayton
Michael D. Minta, Washington University

2007 Winner

Nancy Martarano, University of Dayton, “Balancing Power: Committee System Autonomy and Legislative Organization,” Legislative Studies Quarterly, May 2006.

Selection Committee:
Garrison Nelson (chair), University of Vermont
Susan Hammond, American University
Stephen Frank, St. Cloud State University

2006 Winner

Tracy Sulkin, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Issue Politics in Congress (Cambridge University Press).

Selection Committee:
Stephen E. Frantzich (chair), US Naval Academy
Gary F. Moncrief, Boise State University
David T. Canon, University of Wisconsin

2005 Winner

Thad Kousser, University of California – San Diego, Term Limits and the Dismantling of State Legislative Professionalism (Cambridge University Press).

Selection Committee:
Joseph Cooper (chair), Johns Hopkins University
Cherie Maestas, Florida State University
Daniel J. Palazzolo, University of Richmond

2004 Winner

Yusaku Horiuchi, The Australian National University, and Jun Saito, Yale University, “Reapportionment and Redistribution: Consequences of Electoral Reform in Japan,” American Journal of Political Science 47 (October 2003): 669-682.

Selection Committee:
Burdett Loomis (chair), University of Kansas
Donald Wolfensberger, Woodrow Wilson Center
E. Scott Adler, University of Colorado

2003 Winner

E. Scott Adler, University of Colorado – Boulder, Why Congressional Reforms Fail: Reelection and the House Committee System (University of Chicago Press).

Selection Committee:
Karl Kurtz (chair), National Conference of State Legislatures
Stanley I. Bach, Congressional Research Service
Maureen F. Moakley, University of Rhode Island

Additional Background

Alan Rosenthal has devoted a distinguished and prolific career to the comparative study of American legislatures. Perhaps more than any other legislative scholar, his books have been read by the legislators, staff, and advocates who inhabit the world he studies, and his passion, insight and scholarship have influenced the practice of representative democracy in America.

Alan is committed to building links between political scientists and legislative practitioners. As one specific example of this commitment, in 2000 he convened a meeting of legislative scholars and practitioners to develop an agenda for legislative research that would meet the needs of legislators and staff. Out of this conference came a unique joint project between a group of legislative scholars and the National Conference of State Legislatures, the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and the Council of State Governments to study the effects of term limits. Another goal set at that conference was to encourage young scholars to do comparative legislative research on questions that have practical application to legislatures. This prize contributes to that goal.