William Anderson Award
William Anderson Award
Nominations are closed.
The Anderson Award honors the best doctoral dissertation in the general field of federalism or intergovernmental relations, state and local politics.
The award was set up in honor of William Anderson, former APSA president, who was a leading American authority in the areas of local government, public administration, intergovernmental relations and the history of political science. He did much to shape teaching and research in these fields not only at his own university, but throughout the country. The award is presented at the APSA Annual Meeting and carries a cash prize of $750.
Nomination Information
- Eligibility: Nominees do not have to be members of APSA, affiliated with an institution in the United States, or an American citizen in order to be considered for an award.
Dissertations must have been successfully defended within the previous two calendar years (dissertations for the 2026 award must be defended in 2024 or 2025).
Self-nominations are accepted. Nominations from non-PhD departments and institutions are also welcome if the nominee is currently employed there.
APSA will accept up to two nominations for the Anderson Award per school or political science department.
Award Committee
Listing of Awardees
| Year | Recipient | Dissertation | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Julian Michel | The Subnational Roots of Democratic Stability | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich |
|
2024 |
A ‘Clean’ Slate: Public Financing and Representation in American Legislatures |
University of Notre Dame | |
|
2023 |
Laments of Getting Things Done: Bureaucratic Resistance Against Female Politicians in India |
University of California, Berkeley | |
|
2022 |
The Origins of Subnational Democracy: How Colonial Legacies and Labor Incorporation Shaped Regime Heterogeneity within Latin American Countries |
University of Oxford | |
|
2021 |
Institutional Design and the Politics of US States |
University of Iowa | |
| 2020 | James Strickland |
Multi-Client Lobbying in the American States | University of Michigan |
| 2019 | Jacob Grumbach |
Polarized Federalism: Activists, Voters, and the Resurgence of State Policy in the U.S. | University of California, Berkeley |
| 2018 | Mariano Sánchez-Talanquer |
“States Divided: History, Conflict, and State Formation in Mexico and Colombia” | Cornell University |
| 2017 | Bai Linh Hoang |
Democratic Listening? Race and Representation in Local Politics | University of Michigan |
| 2016 | Philip Rocco |
Reorganizing the Activist State: Conservatives, Commissions, and the Politics of Federalism, 1947-1996 | University of California, Berkeley |
| 2015 | Alexis Walker |
Solidarity’s Wedge: How America’s Federalized Labor Law Divides and Diminishes Organized Labor in the United States | Cornell University |
| 2014 | Steven Rogers |
Accountability in a Federal System | Princeton University |
| 2013 | Clayton Nall |
The Road to Conflict: How the American Highway System Divides Communities and Polarizes Politics | Harvard University |
| 2012 | Paul Nolette |
Advancing National Policy I the Courts: The Use of Multistate Litigation by State Attorneys General | Boston College |
| 2011 | Michael Callaghan Pisapia |
Public Education and the Role of Women in American Political Development, 1852-1979 | University of Wisconsin, Madison |
| 2010 | Zachary Callen |
The Seams of the State: Infrastructure and Intergovernmental Relations in American State Building | University of Chicago |
| 2009 | Alison Post |
Liquid Assets and Fluid Contracts: Explaining the Uneven Effects of Water and Sanitation Privatization | Harvard University |
| 2008 | Traci Renee Burch |
Punishment and Participation | Harvard University |
| 2007 | Ronald S. Smith |
Discerning Differences in Social Capital: The Significance of Interpersonal Network and Neighborhood Association Structure on Citizen Participation | University of California, Davis |
| 2006 | Joon Suk Kim |
Making States Federatively: Alternative Routes of State Formation in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe | University of Chicago |
| 2005 | Michael C. Craw |
Bringing the City Back In: Municipal Governments in U.S. Redistributive Policy | Michigan State University |
| 2004 | Christopher Berry |
Imperfect Union: Fiscal Externalities in Multi-Level Governments | University of Chicago |
| 2003 | Thad Kousser |
How Term Limits and Professionalization Reshape America’s State Legislatures | University of California, Berkeley |
| 2002 | David Stuligross |
A Piece of Land to Call One’s Own | University of California, Berkeley |
| 2001 | Pieter J. van Houten |
Regional Assertiveness in Western Europe: Political Constraints and the Role of Party Competition | University of Chicago |
| 2000 | Pamela W. Winston |
The Devil in Devolution: Welfare, the Nation, and the States | Johns Hopkins University |
| 1999 | David Buchholz |
Competition and Corporate Incentives: Dilemmas in Economic Development | Duke University |
| 1999 | Greg M. Shaw |
Public Opinion and Welfare in the United States | Columbia University |
| 1998 | Kirk Emerson |
The Emergence of State Property Rights Legislation: A Comparative State Policy Analysis | Indiana University |
| 1997 | Dale Mason |
Interest Group Federalism: Indian Gaming and the Status of Indian Tribe in the American Political System | University of Oklahoma |
| 1996 | Thomas M. Carsey |
Election Dynamics: Candidate Strategy and Electoral Cleavages in United States Gubernatorial Elections | Indiana University |
| 1995 | David A. Pizza |
Structure and Cooperation in Party Politics: The Development of Urban Party Organizations in the United States, 1896-1930 | University of Chicago |
| 1994 | Dewitt John |
States at the Center of Environmental Politics | University of Chicago |
| 1993 | Grant D. Reeher |
Narratives of Justice: Legislators’ Beliefs About Distributive Justice | Yale University |
| 1992 | Nancy Elizabeth Burns |
Making Politics Permanent: The Formation of American Local Governments | Harvard University |
| 1991 | Michael B. Berkman |
The State Roots of National Politics: Regional Economic Disparities and the Congressional Tax Agenda, 1978-1986 | Indiana University |
| 1990 | Jeffrey J. Anderson |
Territorial Networks of Interest in Britain and Germany: Regions and the Politics of Economic Decline | Yale University |
| 1989 | John C. Drew |
Child Labor and Child Welfare: The Origins and Uneven Development of the American Welfare State | Cornell University |
| 1988 | No award given | ||
| 1987 | Barry Rabe |
Functional Federalism and the Management of Federal Programs in Health Care and Education | University of Chicago |
| 1986 | Gregory R. Weiher |
Theory of Urban Political Boundaries | Washington University |
| 1985 | No award given | ||
| 1984 | Stephen C. Godek |
Determinants of Public Interest Cable Communication Policies | University of Illinois at Chicago |
| 1983 | No award given | ||
| 1982 | Andrew B. Dunham |
Health and Politics: Cost Control and State Certificate of Need Regulation | University of Chicago |
| 1981 | No award given | ||
| 1980 | Bruce Jacobs |
The Political Economy of Organizational Change | Harvard University |
| 1979 | Donald Kettl |
Managing Community Development in the New Federalism | Yale University |
| 1978 | No award given | ||
| 1977 | Alfred R. Light |
Intergovernmental Relations and Program Innovation: The Institutionalized Perspectives of State Administrator | University of North Carolina |
Support for Scholarship
We are continually grateful for the contributions from APSA members and friends that make our work possible. Your donation helps continue the Anderson Award for future scholars researching federalism or intergovernmental relations, state and local politics. Thank you for your support of APSA and scholars across the discipline.