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The award recognizes an American political scientist who has made a distinguished scholarly contribution to political science. Awarded triennially.

Award Committee: James L. Gibson, Washington University in St. Louis;  Rodney E. Hero, University of Notre Dame; Toni-Michelle Travis, George Mason University, Chair.

Recipient: Theodore J. Lowi, John L. Senior Professor of American Institutions at Cornell University

Citation: The Madison Award is among the most prestigious awards given to a political scientist. We are fortunate to live in an era in which many individuals legitimately contend for this recognition. This committee has decided that one political scientist – Theodore “Ted” Lowi – deserves this recognition more than all others.

Ted Lowi’s contributions to political science are indeed numerous and distinguished. Elizabeth Sanders, also of Cornell University, in her article “The Contributions of Theodore Lowi to Political Analysis and Democratic Theory,” begins with the assertion that: “Lowi, like Gaul, can be divided into three parts: (1) the policy analysis (arenas of power) scheme; (2) democratic theory (juridical democracy, the critique of pluralism, rule of law); and (3) constitutional advocacy centering on designs for parliamentary government” (574). Most political scientists, however, know Lowi by his book entitled The End of Liberalism (1969) and through such enduring concepts as “interest group liberalism” and “juridical democracy.”  These concepts have changed the way that scholars view the deliberation and policy making process carried out by legislative bodies and groups.

Much of what we understand of interest group liberalism stems from Lowi’s incisive analysis in The End of Liberalism. Lowi’s work has long devoted considerable attention to what judicial scholars now refer to as the “separation-of-powers game.” As it turns out, the art of making statutes is typically insufficiently precise to ensure that the will of the legislature gets implemented. Lowi contends that by constructing vague legislation the legislature is delegating its powers to the president, the bureaucracy, and the courts. Moreover, poorly written laws provide ample opportunity for interest groups to assert their interests. Interest group liberalism was a critical issue at the time Lowi wrote the book; this concept remains one of the single most important problems of governance today. Indeed, The End of Liberalism may well be one of the most widely read books in the discipline of political science.  

Lowi recognized the importance of the state well before many other political scientists. As one of the first “post-behavioral” political scientists, Lowi believes that institutions matter. In keeping with this belief, one of his numerous contributions to political science has been to convince many others that the structures of politics have much to do with political outputs and outcomes.

Professor Lowi holds high esteem for the study, use, and function of law in society, reflecting in part his training in judicial process and constitutional law. According to Lowi, law can limit the influence of self-interested groups, empower individuals by informing them of what is and is not legal action, and contribute to democratic accountability. For Lowi, law originates in the legislature, not in the executive office or the bureaucracy, and state dominated by the legislature is central to Lowi’s view of democratic effectiveness. 
 
The End of Liberalism stands on its own as sufficient grounds for awarding Professor Lowi the 2008 APSA Madison Award. Nonetheless, Lowi has made a variety of other contributions throughout his career as a scholar and political scientist. He has been a gifted and selfless teacher and a mentor to many. APSA President-Elect, Peter Katzenstein, and fellow Cornell University faculty member, states that: "Through his teaching Ted has left an indelible imprint on Cornell's Government Department. Problem characterization and concept specification were paramount in his teaching. He also has a special gift of empowering students through the sheer excitement with which he listens to their ideas.” Lowi has also been an inspiring critic of disengaged, apolitical political science. During his 1991 APSA Presidential Address, Lowi challenged his fellow political scientists to “meet our own intellectual needs while serving the public interest” (APSR, Vol. 86, No.1, p.6). Over the course of his career, he has written nearly two hundred articles and essays and at least 18 books—including his recurrent contributions to two American Government textbooks. Indeed, his most recent work – Hyperpolitics, with Mauro Calise – is an interactive political science browser blending conceptual definition and theory development. One sees in the corpus of his work an unusual blend of political philosophy, democratic theory, policy analysis, and institutionalism. Surely these are among the themes that Lowi addresses in his forthcoming book, with colleague Isaac Kramnick, entitled The Norton Anthology of American Political Thought.

Professor Lowi is widely admired in the discipline for his scholarship, service and dedication. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Professor Lowi has been recognized with some of the highest awards of our discipline, including the presidency of both the American Political Science Association (1990-1991) and the International Political Science Association (1997-2000; President Emeritus, 2000-2003). An APSA survey found that Lowi was regarded as the single most significant political scientist in the 1970s. As IPSA president, Lowi was instrumental in getting the 2003 International Congress to meet in Africa for the first time. In 1996, The Women’s Caucus for Political Science named Lowi an “Outstanding Mentor of Women in Political Science.” Throughout his entire career, Lowi has received numerous awards and accolades from colleagues, as befits a scholar of his caliber.

Finally, we note that, in addition to being a world-class political scientist, Ted Lowi is a kind, decent, and caring person. We can think of few individuals who combine such outstanding intellectual and personal qualities. Peter Katzenstein, states that:“As a colleague, Ted is always a source of inspiration—due to his accomplishments, intellectual ambition and impact, and, most importantly, for his generosity of spirit. It is deeply gratifying to see one of the Association’s most prestigious honors bestowed upon our beloved friend and colleague."
 
Therefore, it is with great honor that we award the American Political Science Association 2008 James Madison Award to Theodore Lowi, a scholar, mentor, and student of political science, whose service to the discipline and body of scholarship is unmatched in its influence and contribution.