2009 NPSA Conference Best Paper Awards

Best Faculty paper :  Jonathan Knuckey, University of Central Florida

Paper :  "Racial Resentment & Vote Choice in the 2008 US Presidential Election"

Best Grad Student paper :  Lindsay Shorr Newman, New York University

Paper :  "The Role of Ethnic Brethren in Civil Conflict Onset"

Best Theory paper :  Robert W. Glover, University of Connecticut - Storrs

Paper :  "Agonism Unbound: De-Linking the Competing Strains of Agonistic Pluralism"

Best Paper by a Woman Political Scientist :  Mary Fran T. Malone, University of New Hampshire 

Paper :  "Crime and Its Political Consequences: Citizens' Reactions to Crime in Mexico"

Best Paper on Women/Gender :  Shelly Nixon, University of North Carolina

Paper :  "Successful Feminist Active Nonviolence: A Study of Women in Black"

Every year, NPSA gives a series of best Paper Awards, including the Best Faculty Paper and the Best Graduate Student Paper presented at the previous conference. The Theory Section has a separate McWilliams Award which goes to the best paper in the subfield of Political Theory, and the Women's Caucus has two additional Award categories.

The Process :  At every NPSA conference, Panel Chairs are asked to nominate a paper for consideration for an Award and to submit the nominated paper to a committee of faculty members which evaluates all contending papers and designates the winner in each category.

The Criteria : The Award Committees look for a winning paper that is well written, addresses new theoretical grounds or makes an important theoretical contribution to the discipline and is relevant to the political process.

The Best Graduate Student Paper Award is graciously funded by Lanahan Publishing.

The winners are announced at the conference and on this page.