The International Society of Political Psychology first awarded the Best Dissertation Award at the 2008 Annual Meeting in Paris.
This award was made possible by a generous gift from David Redlawsk and Aletia Morgan.
All Ph.D. dissertations within the field of political psychology are eligible for consideration, regardless of home discipline. Dissertations should represent an independent piece of research that is the sole work of the author and gains the highest degree at the author’s university.
Submissions are for dissertations completed and successfully defended between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 of the prior calendar year. Nominees must be current ISPP members.
How to Nominate:
All nominations should be submitted electronically and must include the following: A one-page abstract (300 words), a 10-page (3,000 word) summary of the dissertation, and a letter of recommendation from the thesis adviser or committee member, all in English. To complete a nomination, simply send these materials to the Committee Chair by the deadline.
2026 Award Committee:
Chair: Shelley McKeown Jones (Oxford University)
Committee: Dominik Stecula (Ohio State University), Sammy Khan (Orebro University)
THE NOMINATION PROCESS FOR 2026 IS NOW OPEN. The deadline for nominations is 15 January 2026.
Winners will be notified by early April 2026.
Current Winners
2025 Best Dissertation Award
Ameni Mehrez, Harvard Kennedy School, USA – A Theory of Value-Based Cleavages Across Religions: Values, Ideology, and Behavior
Honorable Mentions
Natán Skigin, University of Notre Dame, USA – Challenging Stigma from Below: How Human Rights Movements Contest Repressive States and Shape Democratic Citizenship
Hohyun Yoon, University of Pennsylvania, USA – Emotion and Coercive Credibility in International Crises
Past Winners
- 2024 Ramzi Abou-Ismail (Honorable Mentions: Beatriz Besen; Naima Green-Riley)
- 2023 Hanna Szekeres (Honorable Mentions: Edward Scott, Eric Shuman, Tom Nijs, Hannah Waldfogel)
- 2022 Anna Potoczek
- 2021 Kirill Zhirkov; Léïla Eisner
- 2020 Carly N. Wayne
- 2019 Miriam Lindner (Honorable Mentions: Femke Bakker and Jasper van Assche)
- 2018 Frank Gonzalez (Honorable Mention: Cecil Meeusen)
- 2017 Allison Anoll (Honorable Mention: Ozden Melis Ulug and Hannah Nam)
- 2016 Smadar Cohen-Chen (Honorable Mention: Eun Bin Chung)
- 2015 Julie Wronski (Honorable Mentions: Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington, Susanne Veit)
- 2014 Kizzy Gandy (Honorable Mentions: Joshua David Kertzer, Emma O’Dwyer)
- 2013 Jonathan Renshon
- 2012 Michael Quayle
- 2011 Pazit Ben-Nun Bloom
- 2010 Johanna Vollhardt
- 2009 Sam Pehrson
- 2008 Alina Oxendine
