MPSA sponsors many awards for outstanding research presented at the annual conference and an award for the best article published in each volume of the American Journal of Political Science (AJPS). Nominations are made by conference chairs, discussants, and section heads after the conference and awards committees select the winning papers.

The following awards were given for research presented at the 2023 MPSA Annual Conference. The following winners will be presented with their respective awards at the 2024 MPSA Annual Conference Awards Ceremony and Annual Business Meeting on Saturday, April 6, 2024.

Flagship Awards

MPSA Best Paper Award

A $250 award for the best paper presented at the annual MPSA conference. Nomination pool will consist of papers selected for the field awards. Nomination pool will consist of papers selected for the field awards.

Reducing Prejudice and Support for Religious Nationalism through Conversations on WhatsApp
Rajeshwari Majumdar, New York University

Award Committee: Sarah Anzia, UC Berkeley (Chair); Noam Lupu, Vanderbilt University; Eitan Hersh, Tufts University; Andrew Eggers, University of Chicago; Cheryl Boudreau, University of California-Davis

AJPS Best Article Award

A $1,000 award for the best article appearing in the volume of the American Journal of Political Science published in the year preceding the conference. All published articles in this timeframe will be considered.

Entertaining Beliefs in Economic Mobility
Eunji Kim, Columbia University

Award Committee: Daniel Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania (Chair); Margaret Peters, UCLA; Danielle Thomsen, University of California-Irvine; Andrew Reeves, Washington University of St Louis; Rebecca Weitz-Shapiro, Brown University

Field Awards

Best Paper in American Politics

A $250 award for the best paper on the topic of American politics.

The Impact of Values on Issue Stances: Evidence from Panel Studies
Arjun Vishwanath, Vanderbilt University

Award Committee: Michael Crespin, University of Oklahoma (Chair); Sarah Reckhow, Michigan State University; Jonathan Ladd, Georgetown University

Best Paper in International Relations

A $250 award for the best paper on the topic of international relations.

Commerce, Coalitions, and Global Value Chains
Hao Zhang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Award Committee: Kristopher Ramsey, Princeton University (Chair); Iain Osgood, University of Michigan; Sarah Brooks, Ohio State University

Best Paper in Political Behavior (co-winners)

A $250 award for the best paper on the topic of political behavior.

Reducing Prejudice and Support for Religious Nationalism through Conversations on WhatsApp
Rajeshwari Majumdar, New York University

The Local Reaction to Unauthorized Mexican Migration to the US
Ernesto Tiburcio, Tufts University
Kara Ross Camarena, Loyola University Chicago

Award Committee: Christopher Karpowitz, BYU (Chair); Taylor Carlson, Washington University of St Louis; Alexander Theodoridis, University of Massachusetts – Amherst

Evan Ringquist Award

A $250 award for the best paper on the topic of political institutions.

Measuring Strategic Positioning in Congressional Elections
Colin R. Case, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Award Committee: Sarah Treul, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (Chair); Tracy Osborn, University of Iowa; Logan Dancey, Wesleyan University

Kellogg/Notre Dame Award

A $250 award for the best paper in comparative politics.

The Representation Trap: How and Why Muslims Struggle to Maintain Power in India
Feyaad Allie, Harvard University

Award Committee: Deniz Aksoy, Washington University of St Louis (Chair); Adam Auerbach, American University; Gwyneth McClendon, New York University

Kenneth J. Meier Award

A $250 award for the best paper in bureaucratic politics, public administration, or public policy.

Politicization, Bureaucratic Closedness in Personnel Policy and Turnover Intention
Kohei Suzuki, Leiden University
Hyunkang Hur, Indiana University-Kokomo

Award Committee: Susan Moffitt, Brown University (Chair); Colin Moore, University of Hawaii; Annelise Russell, University of Kentucky

Review of Politics Award

A $250 award for the best paper in normative political theory.

Reforming the Rhetoricians: Aristotle’s Underhanded Aim in the Rhetoric
Michael C. Hawley, University of Houston

Award Committee: Michelle Schwarze, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Chair); Matthew Landauer, University of Chicago; Genevieve Rousseliere, Duke University

Robert H. Durr Award

A $250 award for the best paper applying quantitative methods to a substantive problem.

The Local Reaction to Unauthorized Mexican Migration to the US
Ernesto Tiburcio, Tufts University
Kara Ross Camarena, Loyola University Chicago

Award Committee: Jacob Montgomery, Washington University of St Louis (Chair); Teppei Yamamoto, MIT; Amber Boydstun, University of California-Davis

Subfield Awards

Lucius Barker Award

A $250 award for the best paper on a topic investigating race or ethnicity and politics and honoring the spirit and work of Professor Barker.

Race, Diversity, and the Development of Political Attitudes on College Campuses
Nathan Kar Ming Chan, Loyola Marymount University
Tanika Raychaudhuri, University of Houston

Award Committee: Lauren Davenport, Stanford University (Chair); Nazita Lajevardi, Michigan State University; Ariel White, MIT

Patrick J. Fett Award

A $250 award for the best paper on the scientific study of Congress and the presidency.

Direct Election and Senate Representation
Gabriel Foy-Sutherland, University of Chicago
Daniel J. Moskowitz, University of Chicago
Jon C. Rogowski, University of Chicago

Award Committee: Gregory Koger, University of Miami (Chair); Wendy Schiller, Brown University; Julia Azari, Marquette University

Sophonisba Breckinridge Award

A $250 award for the best paper on the topic of women and politics.

Symbolic Representation in New Democracies
Monica C. Komer, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Award Committee: Diana O’Brien, Washington University of St Louis (Chair); Michele Swers, Georgetown University; Katelyn Stauffer, University of Georgia; Beth Reingold, Emory University

Richard E. Matland Award

A $250 award for the best paper by an emerging scholar in representation, elections, or voting. Author (or lead author) is an untenured faculty member or graduate student.

The Representation Trap: How and Why Muslims Struggle to Maintain Power in India
Feyaad Allie, Harvard University

Award Committee: Christopher J. Clark, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (Chair); Paru Shah, Rutgers University; Debra Leiter, University of Missouri – Kansas City

Career Stage Awards

Best Paper by an Emerging Scholar

A $250 award for the best paper, regardless of field or topic, by a scholar or scholars who has or have received the terminal degree(s) within six years of the year in which the paper was presented.

The Caucasian Persuasion: Connecting Black Political Candidates’ Skin Tone and Whites’ Attitudes
Nicole Yadon, Ohio State University

Award Committee: Tiffany Barnes, University of Kentucky (Chair); Quintin Beazer, Florida State; Sarah Anderson, University of California, Santa Barbara

Pi Sigma Alpha Best Paper by a Graduate Student Award

A $250 award for the best paper delivered by a graduate student.

The Zeal of the Outgroup: Loyalty Signaling, Bureaucratic Compliance, and Variation of State Repression in Authoritarian Regimes
Jingyuan Qian, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Steve Bai, Yale University

Award Committee: Jamie Carson, University of Georgia (Chair); Daniel Butler, Washington University of St Louis; Matthew Winters, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign

Pi Sigma Alpha Best Undergraduate Paper Presented in a Poster Format

A $250 award for the best paper delivered by an undergraduate.

Who Tweets Populism When?
Andrew Strasberg, Washington University in St Louis

Award Committee: Adam Dynes, BYU (Chair); C. Lawrence Evans, College of William and Mary; Shamira Gelbman, Wabash College

Herbert Simon Award

A $500 award for a mid-career scholar who has made a significant contribution to the scientific study of bureaucracy. Submissions are handled by the Midwest Caucus on Policy Administration.

Leisha DeHart-Davis, UNC