David O. Sears Best Book on Mass Politics Award

The David O. Sears Book Award is given for the best book published in the field of the political psychology of mass politics, including political behavior, political values, political identities, and political movements, during the previous calendar year. Befitting the far-reaching contributions to scholarship of David Sears, the award winning work should be one that demonstrates the highest quality of thought and makes a major substantive contribution to the field of political psychology.

The award winner will be determined by an international and interdisciplinary committee. As judged by the award committee, the book should increase substantially our understanding of an issue (or issues) that is central to the concerns of mass politics and the world in which we live.

How to Nominate:

Published books carrying a 2024 copyright may be nominated for the award by individuals or publishers. Self-nomination is acceptable and encouraged. All nominations must include the following: An argument as to why this particular book deserves the award. A copy of the book should be made available to the Award Committee. To complete a nomination, simply send these materials to the Committee Chair by the deadline.

The award recipient(s) will be strongly encouraged to attend the Annual Meeting and Awards Reception.

2025 Award Committee:

Chair: Aleks Ksiazkiewicz (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)

Email

Committee: Rongbo Jin (Chinese University of Hong Kong Shenzhen), Jolanda Jetten (University of Queensland)

THE NOMINATION PROCESS FOR 2025 NOW OPEN. The deadline for nominations is 15 December 2024.

Winners will be notified by early April 2025.

First awarded in 2012.

Current Winners

  • 2024 David O. Sears Best Book on Mass Politics Award

    Matthew Rhodes-Purdy, Clemson University; Rachel Navarre, Bridgewater State University; and Stephen Utych, YouGov
    For The Age of Discontent: Populism, Extremism, and Conspiracy Theories in Contemporary Democracies

    Matthew Rhodes-Purdy (Clemson University), Rachel Navarre (Bridgewater State University) and Stephen Utych’s book The Age of Discontent: Populism, Extremism, and Conspiracy Theories in Contemporary Democracies, published by Cambridge University Press, offers a sweeping contribution to knowledge about the pernicious forces underlying democratic discontent in the modern era.

    In their book, the authors develop a theory about the “affective political economy of discontent.” Prior arguments describe economic strife and cultural backlash as competing explanations for populism, conspiracism, and extremism. By contrast, the authors’ theory bridges macro-level politics with micro-level psychology. They explain that economic change causes emotional reactions which, in turn, cause cultural and democratic discontent. The book marshals an impressive array of evidence to test each step in the theory, including experiments and surveys in the U.S. alongside comparative case studies that include countries in Europe, South America, and North America. Their careful theory and analyses leave leaders with a richer understanding of the challenges to preserving democracy in the twenty-first century. 

Past Winners

  • 2024 Matthew Rhodes-Purdy, Rachel Navarre, and Stephen Utych (The Age of Discontent: Populism, Extremism, and Conspiracy Theories in Contemporary Democracies)
  • 2023 Kathleen Powers (Nationalisms in International Politics)
  • 2022 Cigdem V. Sirin, Nicholas A. Valentino, José D. Villalobos (Seeing Us in Them: Social Divisions and the Politics of Group Empathy)
  • 2021 Nathan P. Kalmoe (With Ballots and Bullets: Partisanship and Violence in the American Civil War); Lafleur Stephens-Dougan (Race to the Bottom: How Racial Appeals Work in American Politics)
  • 2020 S. Erdem Aytaç & Susan Stokes (Why Bother: Rethinking Participation in Elections and Protests)
  • 2019 Lauren Davenport (Politics beyond Black and White: Biracial Identity and Attitudes in America)
  • 2018 Christopher Johnston, Howard Lavine, and Christopher Federico (Open Versus Closed: Personality, Identity, and the Politics of Redistribution)
  • 2017 Christopher H. Achen and Larry M. Bartels (Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government)
  • 2016 Diana C. Mutz (In-Your-Face Politics: The Consequences of Uncivil Media)
  • 2015 Christopher F. Karpowitz & Tali Mendelberg (The Silent Sex: Gender, Deliberation and Institutions)
  • 2014 Deborah Jordan Brooks (He Runs, She Runs: Why Gender Stereotypes Do Not Harm Women Candidates)
  • 2013 Howard Lavine, Christopher Johnston & Marco Steenbergen (The Ambivalent Partisan: How Critical Loyalty Promotes Democracy)
  • 2012 Clark McCauley and Sophia Moskalenko (Friction: How Radicalization Happens to Them and Us)

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