Award Recipients

Presidents & Executive Politics (PEP) Section Award Winners

Legacy Award (for a living author for a book, essay, or article, published at least 10 years prior to the award year, that has made a continuing contribution to the intellectual development of the fields of presidency and executive politics).

2022  Mary Stuckey, Pennsylvania State University

Defining Americans: The Presidency and National Identity (University Press of Kansas, 2004).

2022   George Edwards III, Emeritus, Texas A&M University

On Deaf Ears: The Limits of the Bully Pulpit Strategic Presidency: Hitting the Ground Running (Yale University Press, 2006).

2021   James P. Pfiffner, George Mason University

The Strategic Presidency: Hitting the Ground Running (2nd ed., University Press of Kansas, 1996).

2020    Terry M. Moe, Stanford University

“The Politicized Presidency,” in John E. Chubb and Paul E. Peterson, eds., The New Direction in American Politics (The Brookings Institution, 1985)

2019    Shirley Anne Warshaw, Gettysburg College

Powersharing: White House-Cabinet Relations in the Modern Presidency (State University of New York Press, 1996)

2018   Jeffrey Tulis, University of Texas at Austin, The Rhetorical Presidency (Princeton University Press, 1987)

2017   Stephen Skowronek, Yale University

The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to Bill Clinton  (Harvard University Press, 1987)

2016    Samuel Kernell, University of California, San Diego, Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership (CQ Press, 1986).

2015    William Howell, University of Chicago

Power without Persuasion: The Politics of Direct Presidential Action (Princeton University Press, 2003)

Richard E. Neustadt Book Award (for the best book published that contributed to research and scholarship in the field of the American presidency).

2023    Alexander D. Bolton, Emory University, and Sharece Thrower, Vanderbilt University. Checks in the Balance: Legislative Capacity and the Dynamics of Executive Power (Princeton University Press)

2022    John Dearborn, Vanderbilt University

Power Shifts: Congress and Presidential Representation (University of Chicago Press)

2022    Andrew Rudalevige, Bowdoin College

By Executive Order: Bureaucratic Management and the Limits of Executive Order (Princeton University Press)

2021  Paul M. Collins, Jr., University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha, University of North Texas

The President and the Supreme Court (Cambridge University Press)

2020  Rachel Augustine Potter, University of Virginia 

Bending the Rules: Procedural Politicking in the Bureaucracy (University of Chicago Press)

2019  John Sides, Vanderbilt University,  Michael Tesler, University of California-Irvine, and Lynn Vavreck, University of California, Los Angeles

Identity Crisis: The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Meaning of America (Princeton University Press)

2018    Amnon Cavari, IDC Herzliya

The Party Politics of Presidential Rhetoric (Cambridge University Press)

2018    Trygve Throntveit, University of Washington

Power without Victory: Woodrow Wilson and the American International Experiment (University of Chicago Press)

2017    Eric Schickler, University of California, Berkeley,  and Douglas L. Kriner, Cornell University

Investigating the President: Congressional Checks on Presidential Power (Princeton University Press)

2016    Douglas L.  Kriner, Cornell University, and Andrew Reeves, Washington University in St. Louis

The Particularistic President: Executive Branch Politics and Political Inequality (Cambridge University Press)

2015    Rebecca Thorpe, University of Washington

The American Warfare State: The Domestic Politics of Military Spending (University of Chicago Press)

2015    Michael Nelson, Rhodes College

Resilient America: Electing Nixon in 1968, Channeling Dissent, and Dividing Government (Kansas University Press)

2014    Mariah Zeisberg, University of Michigan
War Powers: The Politics of Constitutional Authority (Princeton University Press)

2013    Jean M. Yarbrough, Bowdoin College
Theodore Roosevelt and the American Political Tradition (University of Kansas Press)

2012    Michael J. Korzi, Towson University
Presidential Term Limits in American History: Power, Principles, and Politics (Texas A&M University Press)

2011    Jeffrey E. Cohen, Fordham University
Going Local: Presidential Leadership in the Post-Braodcast Age (Cambridge University Press)

2010    B. Dan Wood, Texas A&M University
The Myth of Presidential Representation (Cambridge University Press)

2009    David E. Lewis, Vanderbilt University
The Politics of Presidential Appointments: Political Control and Bureaucratic Performance (Princeton University Press)

2008    Martha Joynt Kumar, Towson University
Managing the President’s Message: The White House Communications Operation (Johns Hopkins University Press)

2007     William G. Howell, University of Chicago; and Jon C. Pevehouse, University of Wisconsin
While Dangers Gather (Princeton University Press)

2007    Brandice Canes-Wrone, Princeton University
Who Leads Whom? Presidents, Policy, and the Public (University of Chicago Press)

2006    Louis Fisher, Law Division, Library of Congress
Military Tribunals and Presidential Power: American Revolution to the War on Terrorism (University Press of Kansas)

2006     Joel D. Aberbach and Mark A. Peterson, University of California, Los Angeles
The Executive Branch (Oxford University Press)

2005    Kevin J. McMahon, Trinity College
Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race: How the Presidency Paved the Road to Brown (University of Chicago Press)

2004    Janet M. Martin, Bowdoin College
The Presidency and Women: Promise, Performance, and Illusion (Texas A&M University Press)

2003    Andrew C. Rudalevige, Dickinson College
Managing the Presidents Program: Presidential Leadership and Legislative Policy Formation (Princeton University Press)

2002    Kenneth R. Mayer, University of Wisconsin (Co-recipient)
With the Stroke of a Pen: Executive Orders and Presidential Power (Princeton University Press)

2002    Patricia H. Conley, Northwestern University (Co-recipient)
Presidential Mandates: How Elections Shape the National Agenda (University of Chicago Press)

2002   Larry Berman, University of California, Washington Center (Honorable Mention)
No Peace, No Honor: Nixion, Kissinger, and Betrayal in Vietnam (Free Press)

2001    Lawrence J. Jacobs, University of Minnesota; and Robert Y. Shapiro, Columbia University
Politicians Don’t Pander: Political Manipulation and the Loss of Democratic Responsiveness (University of Chicago Press)

2000    David Alistair Yalof, University of Connecticut
Pursuit of Justices: Presidential Politics and the Selection of Supreme Court Nominees (University of Chicago Press)

1999    Keith Krehbiel, Stanford University
Pivotal Politics: A Theory of U.S. Lawmaking (University of Chicago Press)

1998    Jeffrey E. Cohen, University of Kansas
Presidential Responsiveness and Public Policy-Making: The Public and the Policies That Presidents Choose (University of Michigan Press)

1997    Stanley A. Renshon, City University of New York Graduate Center
High Hopes: The Clinton Presidency and the Politics of Ambition (New York University Press)

1996    Karen Hult and Charles Walcott, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
Governing the White House: From Hoover through LBJ (University of Kansas)

1995    Charles O. Jones, University of Wisconsin
The Presidency in a Separated System (The Brookings Institution)

1994    Stephen Skowronek, Yale University
The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to George Bush (Harvard University Press)

1992    David R. Mayhew, Yale University
Divided We Govern

1991    Harold Hongju Koh, Yale University
The National Security Constitution

1990    John P. Burke, University of Vermont; and Fred I. Greenstein, Princeton University; and Collaborators Larry Berman, University of California, Davis; and Richard Immerman  How Presidents Test Reality (Russell Sage Foundation)

1989    Erwin Hargrove, Vanderbilt University
Jimmy Carter as President (Louisiana State University Press)

Founders Award Honoring Francis Rourke for the Best Paper On Executive Politics Authored by a Ph.D.-Holding Scholar at the previous year’s APSA annual meeting.

2023  Joshua B. Kennedy, Georgia Southern University, and Andrew Rudalevige Bowdoin College,  “Executive Orders and the Administrative State: Formulation, Implementation, and Regulation.”

2022  Kyuwon Lee, New York University, and Hye Young You, New York University,  “Bureaucratic Revolving Doors and Interest Group Participation in Policymaking”

2021  Kevin M. Baron, Austin Peay State University, “Informal and Private: Veto Threats Over the Freedom of Information Act”

2020  Kenneth Lowande, University of Michigan, and Charles R. Shipan, University of Michigan, “Where is Presidential Power? Measuring Discretion With Experts and Laypersons”

2020    George A. Krause, University of Georgia, and Jason S. Byers, University of North Georgia   “Confirmation Dynamics: Distinguishing Between Informational Versus Procedural Delay in the Appointment of U.S. Federal Agency Leaders, 1981-2008

2019    Julia Azari, Marquette University,  and William D. Adler, Northeastern Illinois University, “The Party Decides (Who the Vice President Will Be”)

2018    Aaron R. Kaufman, New York University Abu Dhabi and Jon C. Rogowski, Harvard University

“Interbranch Conflict, Unilateral Action, and the Presidency”

2017   Larry Rottenberg, University of Rochester and Matthew Sweeten,  University of Rochester

“Analyzing Agency Choice with Text Analysis: The Case of the NRLB”

2016    Jasmine Farrier, University of Louisville
“Judicial Restraint and the New War Powers”

2015    Magna Inácio, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, and Mariana Llanos, GIGA Institut für Lateinamerika-Studien
“The Institutional Presidency in Latin America: A Comparative Analysis”

2014    Andrew Rudalevige, Bowdoin College
“Bargaining with the Bureaucracy: Executive Orders and the Transaction Costs of Unilateral Action”

2013    Stephen Weatherford, University of California at Santa Barbara
“Obama and the Economy: The Financial Crisis, the Fed, and the Inequality Agenda”

2012    Brendan J. Doherty, United States Naval Academy
“The President as Party-Builder-in-Chief: Presidential Fundraising, 1977-2011”

2011    Matthew Beckman, University of California, Irvine, and Vimal Kumar, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
“Opportunism in Polarization: Presidential Success in Senate Key Votes, 1953-2008”

2010    Kevin J. McMahon, Trinity College
“Richard Nixon, the Supreme Court, and the Politics of Desegregation in the Urban North”

2009    Jeffrey E. Cohen, Fordham University
“The Congressional Roots of Presidential Approval”

2008    B. Dan Wood, Texas A&M University
“Presidential Saber Rattling and the Economy”

2007    Jeffrey Cohen, Fordham University, and Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha, University of North Texas
“Change and Stability in the President’s Legislative Policy Agenda, 1789-2002”

2006    Andrew C. Rudalevige, Dickinson College; and David E. Lewis, Princeton University
“Parsing the Politicized Presidency: Centralization and Politicization as Presidential Strategies for Bureaucratic Control”

2005    James N. Druckman, University of Minnesota
“Lumpers and Splitters: The Public Opinion Information that Politicians Collect and Use”

2004    Marty Cohen, Hans Noel, and John Zaller, University of California Los Angeles
“Constant Rules, Changing Game: A General Model of Presidential Primaries, 1972-2000”

2003    Andrew C. Rudalevige, Dickinson College
“The Structure of Leadership: Information, Organization, and Presidential Decision Making”

2002    B. Dan Wood, University of California, Los Angeles; and John Bohte, Oakland University
“The Politics of Administrative Design”

2001    Matthew Baum, University of California, Los Angeles
“Who Rallies? The Constituent Foundations of the Rally-Round-the-Flag Phenomena”

2000    Keith Whittington, Princeton University; and Daniel Carpenter, University of Michigan
“Institutional Development in a System Separation of Powers”

1999    John Frendreis, Raymond Tatalovich, and John Schaff, Loyola University of Chicago
“Predicting Legislative Output in the First ‘100 Days,’ 1897-1995”

1998    Bruce Buchanan, University of Texas, Austin
“Presidential Campaign Quality: What the Variance Implies”

1996    Robert J. Spitzer, SUNY at Cortland
“‘It’s My Constitution and I’ll Cry If I Want to’: Veto Dispute”

1995    Richard A. Forshee, University of Michigan
“Presidential Activism and Obstruction in Committee and on the Floor”

Founders Award Honoring Lester Seligman for the Best Paper on Executive Politics presented by a Graduate Student at either the previous year’s APSA annual meeting, or at any of the regional meetings in the previous two calendar years.

2023   Benjamin S. Noble, Washington University in St. Louis, ““How Presidents Persuade: Facts, Feelings, and the Language of Presidential Power”

2022   Christopher W. Blair, University of Pennsylvania, and Joshua A. Schwartz, University of Pennsylvania and Beifer Center, Harvard Kennedy School “The Gendered Peace Premium”

2021   Nicholas G. Napolio, University of Southern California, “Executive Coalition Building”

2020   Justin Pottle, Harvard University, “Party Teamsmanship and Presidential Polarization” 

2019    Christina M. Kinane, University of Michigan

“Control without Confirmation: The Politics of Vacancies in Presidential Appointments or Administration Without Confirmation: The Value of Absent and Interim Appointees.”

2018    John A. Dearborn, Yale University
“The ‘Proper Organs’ for Presidential Representation: A Fresh Look at the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921.”

2017    Elizabeth Mann, University of Michigan
“Presidential Polcymaking at the State Level: Revision Through Waivers?”

2016    Kenny Lowande, University of Virginia
“Delegation or Unilateral Action?”

2015    Christopher A. Martinez, Loyola University, Chicago
“Surviving the Presidency in South America: Rethinking the Role of Democracy”

2014    Janna Rezaee, University of California, Berkeley
“OIRA: The Other Edge of the Sword”

2013    Rachel Potter, University of Michigan
“Strategic Transparency in Agency Rulemaking”

2011    John Hudak, Vanderbilt University
“The Politics of Federal Grants: Presidential Influence Over the Distribution of Federal Funds”

2010    Amnon Cavari, University of Wisconsin, Madison
“Presidential Rhetoric and the Economic Policy Image of the Parties”

2009    Cari Lynn Hennessy, Northwestern University
“The Effect of Public Opinion on Policy Outcomes in Sequential Veto Bargaining”

2008    Curtis W. Nichols and Adam Myers, University of Texas, Austin
“The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Exploiting the Opportunity for Reconstructive Leadership”

2007    Kevin James Parsneau, University of Minnesota
“Politicizing Policy Priorities and Sub cabinet Nominations”

2006    Michael Cutrone, Princeton University
“Parties, Pivots, and the Patients’ Bill of Rights”

2003    Elvin T. Lim, Nuffield College, University of Oxford
“The Lion and the Lamb: De-Mythologizing Franklin Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats”

2002    Casey B. K. Dominguez, University of California Berkeley
“Is it a Honeymoon? An Empirical Investigation of the President’s First Hundred Days”

2001    Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha, Texas A&M University
“Anticipating Agendas: Dynamics of Presidential Policy”

2000    Kevin S. Price, University of Wisconsin, Madison
“The Partisan Legacies of Preemptive Leadership: Assessing the Eisenhower Cohorts in the U.S. House”

1999    David E. Lewis, Stanford University
“The Presidential Advantage in the Design of Bureaucratic Agencies”

1997    Richard J. Powell, Northwestern University
“Taking the Show on the Road: The Politics of Presidential Travel in the Modern Era”

1996    David B. Cohen, University of South Carolina
“President Bush’s Chiefs of Staff: Sununu and Skinner in the White House”

1991    Bartholomew H. Sparrow, University of Texas, Austin
“Raising Taxes and Going into Debt: A Resource Dependence Model of U.S. Public Finance in the 1940s”

Founders Award for the best paper written by an undergraduate student.

2014    Aaron Goodman, Dartmouth College
“Presidential Delegation of Foreign Policy Powers”

2013    Lisa McAlister, University of North Texas
“Exploration of Ticket Splitting: The Battleground State Effect”

2011    Alexander Gibbons, University of Maryland
“Keeping Time for Skowronek: A Quantification of Secular and Political Time”

2009    Adam Aliano, United States Naval Academy
“From the New Frontier to Change You Can Believe In: The Issues of Person and the Campaigns of 1960 and 2008”

2008    Brett Amelkin, Princeton University
“Fit to Print: Trends in New York Times Election Coverage, 1960-2006”

2007    Carrie Roush, Dickenson College
“‘Great Writ,’ Great Power: Habeus Corpus and Prerogative in the Lincoln and Bush II Presidencies”

2006    Andrew Kaufman, Carleton College
“Historical Continuities in the 2004 Presidential Debates”

2005    Rebecca Stark, Carleton College
“The Influence of Foreign Affairs in Presidential Elections, 1992-2004”

Richard E. Neustadt Best Reference Book Award
Given once every three years for the best reference book on the US presidency published during the past three years.

2017    John Woolley, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Gerhard Peters, Citrus College
Richard Neustadt Award for Best Reference Resource for  American Presidency Project, American Political Science Association, Section on Presidents and Executive Politics

2010    George C. Edwards, III, Texas A&M University; and William Howell, University of Chicago
The Oxford Handbook of the American Presidency (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009)

2010    Lyn Ragsdale, Rice University
Vital Statistics on the Presidency, Third Edition (Washington, DC: CQ Press 2009)

PEP Career Service Award

2021   Thomas E. CroninColorado College

2021   Martha Joynt Kumar, Towson University

2017   Louis Fisher, The Constitution Project

2012    Karen Hult, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University

2008    George C. Edwards, III, Texas A&M University

2004    Fred I. Greenstein, Princeton University

2003    Richard E. Neustadt, Harvard University

George C. Edwards III Dissertation Award
Given annually for the best dissertation in presidency research completed and accepted during the previous calendar year.

2023   Robert E. Thompson, Wayne State University
“Emotional Intelligence and Intensification of Impeachment Threats to US Presidents, 1789-2021.”

2022   Nathan Gibson, Princeton University
“Presidential Use of Centralizing and Politicization”

2021   David R. Miller, Vanderbilt University
“All the President’s Organized Interests”

2020    John A. Dearborn, Yale University
“The Representative Presidency: The Ideational Foundations of Institutional Development and Durability”

2020    Christian M. Kinane, University of Michigan
“Control Without Confirmation: The Politics of Vacancies in Presidential Appointments”

2019    Matthew Zarit, University of Pittsburgh

“Lost in Translation: How Bureaucratic Hierarchies Limit Presidential Control over Distributive Policymaking in U.S. Federal Agencies”

2017    Elizabeth Mann, University of Michigan
“Presidential Polcymaking at the State Level: Revision Through Waivers?”

2016    Rachel Augustine Potter, University of Michigan
“Writing the Rules of the Game: The Strategic Logic of Agency Rulemaking”

2015    Ian Ostrander, Washington University in St. Louis
“Winning the Waiting Game: Senatorial Delay in Executive Nominations”

2013    John Hudak, Vanderbilt University
“The Politics of Federal Grants: Presidential Influence over the Distribution of Federal Funds”

2012    William G. Resh, American University
“Rethinking the Administrative Presidency: Trust, Intellectual Capital, and Appointee-Careerist Relations”

2011    Amnon Cavari, University of Wisconsin
“The Party Politics of Presidential Rhetoric”

2009    José D. Villalobos, Texas A&M University
“Presidential-Bureaucratic Management and Policy Making Success in Congress”

Emerging Scholar Award, given to an early career scholar (10 years from date of Given to an early career scholar (10 years from date of award of PhD) that has made a significant contribution to the intellectual development of the fields of presidency and executive politics

2023   John A. Dearborn, Vanderbilt University.