Each year, we have the privilege of witnessing our senior thesis writers tackle some of the most pressing and complex issues facing our world. This year, our students have truly distinguished themselves—not only through the creativity and rigor of their research, but also through a fantastic array of prizes and honors. We are thrilled to…
We are delighted to announce that ten of our senior thesis writers have received top honors in this year’s Government Prizes, recognizing their extraordinary scholarship and commitment to critical inquiry. Conner Huey, Danny Laughary, Emory Paul, and Mateo Velarde-Berrios have each won the coveted James Gordon Bennett Prize for their thought-provoking theses exploring U.S. policy,…
We are proud to announce that two distinguished members of our community—Melani Cammett and Andrew O’Donohue—have been named Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellows for the 2025–2026 academic year. They join the Institute’s 26th class of fellows, a highly selective group that includes leading voices across the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Each fellow is selected…
The Government Department is proud to celebrate eight of our talented undergraduates who have been awarded the 2025 Thomas T. Hoopes Prize, the most in the department’s history. The Hoopes Prize, one of Harvard College’s highest honors, recognizes exceptional scholarly work and research by undergraduates across disciplines for their senior theses. This year’s Government student…
Yuhua Wang, Ford Foundation Professor of Modern China Studies, has been named a recipient of the prestigious Harvard College Professorship. This honor, announced by Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Hopi Hoekstra on May 6, recognizes Wang’s outstanding contributions to undergraduate teaching, mentorship, and research. Wang joins four other distinguished faculty…
Ph.D. Candidate Andrew O’Donohue has been granted the 2024 Best Conference Paper Award from the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Law and Courts Section. O’Donohue was recognized for his paper, “Law versus Democracy: Minoritarian Courts, Audience Costs, and Democratic Backsliding in Turkey”, an in-depth study examining how judicial institutions may inadvertently contribute to democratic erosion….
Sun Young Park has published a paper in Political Behavior, titled “Stereotyping Women with Sympathy: Youth Political Socialization in Mixed-Gender Environments”. The piece, published in April 2025, theorizes that gender compositions of peer environments influence stereotyping of women in political roles. Youth is a critical period where future citizens can develop both gender stereotypes and…
Feyaad Allie, Assistant Professor of Government, published an essay in the Journal of Democracy on elections, minorities, political parties in India. Over the past decade, India has been central to debates on democracy. Many viewed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) underperformance in the 2024 election as a sign of democratic resilience. This essay argues instead…
Kiara Henandez, Ph.D. Candidate, Taeku Lee, Bae Family Professor of Government, and Marcel Roman, Assistant Professor of Government, published an article in the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. Prior research shows that the pro-Trump, anti-democratic January 6th insurrection (J6) led to a short-term reduction in Republican support for President Trump. However, it remains unclear why the…
Marcel Roman co-authored an article for Perspectives on Politics titled “The George Floyd Effect: How Protests and Public Scrutiny Changed Police Behavior”. The murder of George Floyd in May 2020 sparked a wave of Black Lives Matter protests in many cities throughout the United States. Protesters’ demands ranged from constraints on police use of force…
