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- The court of public opinion: The limited effects of elite rhetoric about prosecuting political leaders
Andrew O’Donohue, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Government, has co-published an article in the National Academy of Sciences’ journal PNAS Nexus. The paper examines how prosecutions of political leaders affect public opinion by studying Trump’s criminal prosecution. Criminal prosecutions of political leaders have become salient election issues in the United States and globally, yet… - Trump’s Legal Strategy Has a Name
In May, The Atlantic shared an article by Andrew O’Donohue, discussing the administration’s legal strategy and the pattern of democratic backsliding globally. “Donald Trump’s attacks on the courts lack recent precedent in the United States, but they follow a clear pattern seen in backsliding democracies around the world. In many countries, when political leaders challenge… - The U.S. Judicial Crisis Is Uniquely Dangerous
Andrew O’Donohue, a Ph.D. Candidate in the Government Department and a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, published an opinion article in Foreign Policy on how other democracies provide a roadmap for courts to prevail over attacks from the executive branch. “Just two months in, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is aggressively… - Jerry Min’s insightful research on tax treaties garners APSA recognition
Jerry Min, a Ph.D. candidate in Government and A.M. candidate in Statistics at Harvard, has been awarded the APSA Best Poster Award. This award recognizes the best poster presented by a graduate student or early career scholar at the previous year’s American Political Science Association (APSA) Annual Meeting and is chosen by a selection committee… - Justin L. Brooks receives prestigious APSA Christian Bay Award for research on Freedmen’s Bureau and Racial Formation
We are pleased to share that Ph.D. candidate Justin L. Brooks has been honored with the 2025 Christian Bay Award by the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Critical Political Science section. Brooks received this recognition for his paper “Juridical Occasions for Racial Formation: The Freedmen’s Bureau, Labor, and Private Law”. The prestigious Christian Bay Award… - Gov scholars bring fresh insights to global AI & Philosophy Forum in Athens
On June 20, Athens became the epicenter of scholarly dialogue on the intersection of philosophy and artificial intelligence, hosting The Lyceum Project – an annual initiative where world-leading academics and practitioners explore how technology can sustain and enrich society. Among the distinguished participants – which included Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister of Greece – were… - Celebrating the Department of Government’s graduating Ph.D. Class of 2024-25
The Department of Government is proud to honor our 2024-25 graduating Ph.D. students, whose academic curiosity, dedication, and resilience represent the very best of our scholarly community. This year, we celebrate Evelyn Boyden, Reed Rasband, Austin Jordan, Hunter Rendleman, Ye Helen Zhang, Brian Palmiter, Mafalda Pratas, Jordan Rudinsky, Juan Dodyk, Katherine Irajpanah, Sophie Pangle, Chris… - Melani Cammett and Andrew O’Donohue named Radcliffe Institute Fellows for 2025–2026
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… - Andrew O’Donohue wins APSA Best Conference Paper Award for research on Democratic Backsliding in Turkey
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…. - Stereotyping Women with Sympathy
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… - White Power! How White Status Threat Undercuts Backlash Against Anti-democratic Politicians
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… - Off-Balance: How US Courts Privilege Conservative Policy Outcomes
Ph.D. Candidate Brian Highsmith co-authored a paper with Maya Sen, Harvard Kennedy School, and Kathleen Thelen, MIT, in Perspectives on Politics. A growing literature has challenged some of the more influential accounts regarding the role of courts in the development of social and economic policy in the United States. We highlight some of the more… - Quantitative Political Science Research is Greatly Underpowered
Marco Mendoza Aviña co-authored a paper published in The Journal of Politics. The paper examines the replicability crisis in political science by analyzing over 16,000 hypothesis tests from nearly 2,000 articles, revealing that most studies are severely underpowered while also showing that experts significantly overestimate typical power levels in the discipline. The social sciences face… - Julio Solis Arce and Chengyu Fu Awarded Prestigious Traveling Fellowships for 2025–26
We are pleased to announce that two Ph.D. candidates from the Department of Government, Julio Solis Arce and Chengyu Fu, have been awarded competitive traveling research fellowships for the 2025–26 academic year. Administered by the Committee on General Scholarships at the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), these fellowships support… - Gov grads Abbie LeBlanc and Jan-Paul Sandmann Named Edmond J. Safra Graduate Fellows in Ethics
The Department of Government is proud to announce that two of our Ph.D. candidates in political theory, Abbie LeBlanc and Jan-Paul Sandmann, have been selected as 2025–26 Edmond J. Safra Graduate Fellows at Harvard’s Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics. Abbie LeBlanc, a fourth-year graduate student, focuses on the history of political thought, particularly… - Celebrating academic excellence at the 2025 Harvard Horizons Symposium
On Tuesday, April 8th, members of the Harvard Department of Government gathered at the 2025 Harvard Horizons Symposium to support and celebrate one of our own, Ph.D. candidate Andrew O’Donohue. Organized by Harvard Griffin GSAS, this prestigious annual event highlights the remarkable research of the selected 2025 Harvard Horizons Scholars, chosen by the Harvard Horizons… - Spotlight on Indigenous Politics: Marco M. Aviña and Julio S. Solís Arce Awarded APSA Research Grant
Ph.D. Candidates Marco M. Aviña and Julio S. Solís Arce have received the APSA Advancing Research Grants for Indigenous Politics. The grants are awarded to scholars dedicated to advancing understanding in Indigenous Studies, Indigenous Political Science, Sovereignty, Tribal Governance, and Native Studies, with grants ranging from $2,000 to $2,500. These funds will support diverse research… - Andrew O’Donohue selected to be a 2025 Harvard Horizons Scholar
Ph.D. candidate Andrew O’Donohue is chosen as a 2025 Harvard Horizons Scholar. Andrew is one of eight appointees – who are studying topics from photochemistry, youth psychotherapies, human learning artificial intelligence, and more. The group forms the twelfth class of the Society of Horizons Scholars, a fellowship cohort that offers opportunities for long-lasting community, mentorship,… - What We Owe to Ukrainians
Ph.D. Candidate Sophia Anastazievsky has published an article in Ethics & International Affairs, titled “What We Owe to Ukrainians: A Moral Perspective on Nuclear Coercion and Military Intervention”. The piece discusses the moral obligations to intervene militarily in Ukraine to stop Russian human rights abuses and ensure that Ukraine achieves a military victory. Sophia argues that “Ukraine’s… - António Câmara awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
António Câmara, a third-year Ph.D. student, has been awarded a graduate research fellowship through the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who have demonstrated the potential to be high-achieving scientists and engineers, early in their careers. The program aims to ensure the quality, vitality, and diversity… - There’s a Better Way for Mexico to Elect Its Judges
María Ballesteros, Ph.D. candidate and a Minerva/USIP peace scholar fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, and Andrew O’Donohue, Ph.D. candidate and the Carl J. Friedrich fellow, have published a new article in Foreign Policy. On Sunday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador signed into law a contentious slate of constitutional amendments aimed at overhauling the country’s… - Continuity of care during severe civil unrest with a model of community-based HIV care: a retrospective cohort study from Haiti
Rochelle Sun has contributed to an article in The Lancet on how the provision of healthcare in Haiti has been integrally challenged by tumultuous socio-political conflict over the past five years. Background There is limited data on the effectiveness of differentiated service delivery (DSD) for HIV care during sociopolitical turmoil. We assessed outcomes with a… - Five graduate students awarded for outstanding dissertations
We are delighted to announce that five of our graduate students were awarded dissertation prizes at our commencement celebration on May 22. The Department of Government prize for the best dissertation on a topic of race, ethnicity/or migration and politics was awarded to Olivia Woldemikael for her dissertation, “The Local Consequences of Migration Policies in… - Trio of talented Gov students named Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics fellows
The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics has announced its 2024-25 fellows, with three current or former PhD students named Fellows-in-Residence and Graduate Fellows – as well as a number of our concentrators appointed as Undergraduate Fellows. Adriana Alfaro Altamirano – PhD alumni of the Department of Government – has been appointed a Fellow-in-Residence… - Regulating Location Incentives
Brian Highsmith Graduate Student, American Politics This forthcoming law journal article explores how the development of American antitrust law was shaped by popular concerns about the consequences of unregulated inter-jurisdictional competition for mobile corporate capital—focusing on (1) the lavish local subsidies demanded by private railroad companies during the late 19th century, and (2) tax competition… - Autocracy-favoring Globalization?George Yean Graduate Student, Comparative Politics & International Relations A working paper: What is the role of globalization for the rise of autocracies worldwide? We show that autocracies are better at exploiting the integrated global economic system. Compared to the pre-1990 period, on average, autocracies performed substantially better than democracies on all major economic indicators…
- Graduate Students’ Seminar Paper Published in Security Studies JournalRecently graduated Ph. D. students, Naima Green-Riley and Andrew Leber, recently published Whose War is it Anyway? Explaining the Black-White Gap in Support for the Use of Force Abroad in the Security Studies Journal. This article started as a final paper for Professor Ansolabehere’s Public Opinion class and has culminated as a fresh take on…
- Government 2023 Dissertation AwardsThe following dissertation awards were announced at the Department of Government’s doctorand reception on May 24. The Department of Government prize for the best dissertation on a topic of Race, Ethnicity/or Migration and Politics is awarded to Briitta van Staalduinen for her dissertation, “Ethnic Inequality in the Welfare State”. The Department of Government prize for the best…
- Government Professor, Joshua Kertzer, Named John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Government and Awarded Harvard’s Joseph R. Levenson Memorial Teaching PrizeGovernment professor, Joshua Kertzer, was named the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and of Government. In addition to all the wonderful work he does as Director of Graduate Studies, he was also awarded the 2023 Harvard Joseph R. Levenson Memorial Teaching Prize for excellence in undergraduate teaching. Congratulations!…
- Two Government PhD’s Named Safra Center for Ethics 2023-24 FellowsGovernment PhD candidates Soren Dudley and Emma Ebowe were named Edmond J. Safra Graduate Fellows. Congratulations!…
- Graduate Student, Akshay Dixit, Discusses Inequality in IndiaAkshay Dixit, a PhD student in government and political economy, shared some of his findings regarding how Indians view equality and inequality with GSAS News….
- Professor Alisha Holland Awarded the Everett Mendelsohn Excellence in Mentoring Award by GSASAlisha Holland, an Associate Professor of Government, was among the 2022-23 faculty winners of the Everett Mendelsohn Excellence in Mentoring Award. This award is presented by the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences annually based on nominations by GSAS students. Faculty awarded provide exemplary mentorship to graduate students. Congratulations Alisha!…
- Why Do Misperceptions Worsen as Relevant Information Increases?David Beavers Graduate Student, American Politics With Jennifer L. Hochschild Overview: Research generally finds that exposure to corrective information attenuates misperceptions, and that as the cost of acquiring information diminishes and the stakes for possessing accurate information increase, factual accuracy increases. In an ongoing project, Jennifer Hochschild and I examine a puzzling counterexample. Despite ample…
- Support for the Global Economic OrderGeorge Yean Graduate Student, International Relations Overview: Post-Cold War global economic order is in trouble. As a result of rising protectionism, mercantilism, security concerns, tensions between geopolitical rivals, and the current account and currency crisis, the order has been fundamentally undermined. There are losers and winners in the international order, as there are in the…
- Rethinking Peripherality and PoliticsNoah Dasanaike, Graduate Student, Comparative Politics Overview: In my research article, I deconstruct the concept of peripherality into several dimensions and estimates the effect of these dimensions on support for the radical right. More specifically, I propose physical, social, and economic dimensions of peripherality, drawing heavily from Bourdieu’s types of capital, and outline measures through…
- Marc Sabatier HvidkjaerComparative Politics with a focus on Political Economy My last name is difficult to pronounce, as it is of Danish origin. The “H” is silent, the “d” is soft, the “dkj” is confusing, and “æ” is a unique Danish letter. I have met many variations on the name at Harvard, and the confusion in people’s…
- Rochelle SunInternational Relations Interested in Issues Related to Public Health As a third-year PhD candidate, I’m working through the early stages of solidifying my dissertation project. My research examines the role of healthcare as a strategic asset in conflict and diplomacy. Specifically, I study how combatants navigate and interact with healthcare resources during conflict, and analyze…
- Andrew O’DonohueComparative Politics with a Focus on the Middle East In addition to studying the global crumbling of democracy, my time as a Ph.D. student has been filled with many fun experiences. Inside the department, my favorite space is the weekly Comparative Politics workshop – I love seeing friends for lunch, learning about new research, and…
- David Lowry Pressly PhD Graduate Receives the 2021 Leo Strauss AwardDavid Lowry Pressly Receives the 2021 Leo Strauss Award…
- Pamela Nwakanma has been awarded an APSA doctoral dissertation research improvement grantPamela Nwakanma has been awarded an APSA doctoral dissertation research improvement grant…
- Congratulations to Lowry Pressly for winning a Bowdoin Prize for Graduate Essay in the English Language for his essay entitled “The Right to be Forgotten and the Possibility of Being a Stranger.”https://prizes.fas.harvard.edu/bowdoin-prizes…
- Doctoral student Pamela Nwakanma has been awarded the 2019 Kauffman Foundation Award from the APSA Section on Class and Inequality for her 2018 APSA paper on “Women, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development in Africa”Doctoral student Pamela Nwakanma has been awarded the 2019 Kauffman Foundation Award from the APSA Section on Class and Inequality for her 2018 APSA paper on “Women, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development in Africa”….
- Adam Lebovitz is the recipient of the American Political Science Association’s 2019 Leo Strauss awardAdam Lebovitz is the recipient of the American Political Science Association’s 2019 Leo Strauss award, which is awarded annually for the best dissertation in the field of political philosophy. Adam’s dissertation, Colossus: Constitutional Theory in American and France, 1776-1799, was defended in September 2018. Congratulations!…
- Ranjit Lall is the recipient of the American Political Science Association’s 2019 Merze Tate AwardRanjit Lall is the recipient of the American Political Science Association’s 2019 Merze Tate Award, which is awarded annually for the best dissertation in the field of international relations, law, and politics. Ranjit’s dissertation, Making International Organizations Work: The Politics of Institutional Performance, was defended for a March 2018 degree. Congratulations!…
- The Edward M. Chase Prize for the best dissertation on a subject relating to the promotion of world peace is awarded to Dominika Kruszewska for her dissertation, “From the Streets to the Party Lists: Electoral Advantages of Social Movement Activism”The Edward M. Chase Prize for the best dissertation on a subject relating to the promotion of world peace is awarded to Dominika Kruszewska for her dissertation, “From the Streets to the Party Lists: Electoral Advantages of Social Movement Activism”….
- The two Senator Charles Sumner Prizes for the best dissertations go to Tyler Jost and Mayya KomisarchikThe two Senator Charles Sumner Prizes for the best dissertations “from the legal, political, historical, economic, social, or ethnic approach, dealing with any means or measures tending toward the prevention of war and the establishment of universal peace” are awarded to 1. Tyler Jost for his dissertation, “Decision by Design: National Security Institutions and Interstate Crisis” 2. Mayya…
- The Robert Noxon Toppan prize for the best dissertation upon a subject of political science is awarded to Adam Lebovitz for his dissertation, “Colossus: Constitutional Theory in American and France, 1776-1799”The Robert Noxon Toppan prize for the best dissertation upon a subject of political science is awarded to Adam Lebovitz for his dissertation, “Colossus: Constitutional Theory in American and France, 1776-1799”….
- Soichiro Yamauchi, PhD Candidate is co-winner for Best Poster Award at the joint conference of the 6th Asian Political Methodology Meeting and the second annual meeting of the Japanese Society for Quantitative Political ScienceWe are pleased to announce two co-recipients of the Best Poster Award atthe joint conference of the 6th Asian Political Methodology Meeting and thesecond annual meeting of the Japanese Society for Quantitative PoliticalScience, which was held at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, on January5 and 6, 2019. (The award is sponsored by the Japanese Journal…
- Volha Charnysh PhD graduate won the Best Dissertation award from the APSA Migration & Citizenship Section, for “Migration, Diversity, and Economic Development: Post-WWII Displacement in Poland”Volha Charnysh PhD graduate won the Best Dissertation award from the APSA Migration & Citizenship Section, for “Migration, Diversity, and Economic Development: Post-WWII Displacement in Poland”…
- The following dissertation prizes were announced at the department’s doctoral cocktail party on May 23The Edward M. Chase Prize for the best dissertation on a subject relating to the promotion of world peace was awarded to Madhav Khosla for his dissertation, “Modern Constitutionalism and the Indian Founding” The two Senator Charles Sumner Prizes for the best dissertations “from the legal, political, historical, economic, social, or ethnic approach, dealing with any means…
- Shanna Weitz: 2018 Derek C. Bok Award Citationhttps://gsas.harvard.edu/news/stories/shanna-weitz-2018-derek-c-bok-award-citation…
- Government Hoopes Prize Winners 2018May 3, 2018 Marie Becker ’18, Sally Marsh ’18, Yousra Neberai ’18, and Caroline Tervo ’18 have won the Hoopes Thesis Prize. Congratulations! Marie Becker, “The United Space: Transnational Expert Networks and Cooperation in Space between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. during the Cold War” Sally Marsh, “How Manistee Flipped: Understanding the 2016 Trump and Clinton Campaigns…
- Statement of Principles, and Moving ForwardHarvard University Department of Government Jennifer Hochschild, Chair Statement of Principles, and Moving Forward Recent articles in The Chronicle of Higher Education have reported allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct by Professor Jorge Dominguez, a faculty member in our department. We in the Department of Government were appalled to hear of these concerns and to…
- Sheena Greitens’ (PhD graduate) 2016 book, “Dictators and Their Secret Police: Coercive Institutions and State Violence” is the co-winner of the 2017 International Studies Association’s annual “Best Book” Award. Sheena Greitens’ (PhD graduate / Assistant Professor University of Missouri / Harvard Academy Fellow 2017-18) 2016 book, “Dictators and Their Secret Police: Coercive Institutions and State Violence” is the co-winner (along with Jessica Stanton’s book (“Violence and Restraint in Civil War: Civilian Targeting in the Shadow of International Law”) of the 2017 International Studies Association’s…
- Ranjit Lall PhD candidate has been awarded a Leamer-Rosenthal Prize for Open Social Science in the Emerging Researchers categoryhttp://www.bitss.org/people/ranjit-lall/ 2017 Leamer-Rosenthal Prize Recipient — Emerging Researcher Ranjit Lall is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Government at Harvard University. His research interests are in the area of international political economy, with a focus on international institutions, global governance, financial regulation, and quantitative methods. He graduated from the University of Oxford with a…
- The following Phd students were named as 2017-2018 APSA Minority Fellowship Program recipientsThe following Government Department Phd students were named as 2017-2018 APSA Minority Fellowship Program recipients. http://www.apsanet.org/mfp/2017_2018 Kaneesha Johnson Pamela Adaugo Nwakanma Shannon Parker…
- Daniel Koss’s dissertation has been selected for the Walter Dean Burnham Best Dissertation Award of the section on History and Politics of the American Political Science AssociationDaniel Koss’s dissertation, Where the Party Rules: Party-Based Authoritarianism and the Reach of the Chinese State has been selected for the Walter Dean Burnham Best Dissertation Award of the section on History and Politics of the American Political Science Association….
- Yue “Iza” Ding’s dissertation has been selected for the Best Dissertation Award of the Section on Urban and Local Politics of the American Political Science AssociationYue “Iza” Ding’s dissertation, Invisible Sky, Visible State: Environmental Governance and Political Support in China, has been selected for the Best Dissertation Award of the Section on Urban and Local Politics of the American Political Science Association. …
- PhD student, Jinyan Zang is a 2017 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship recipienthttps://www.pdsoros.org/meet-the-fellows/jinyan-zang…
- Ariel White, Noah Nathan and Julie Faller receive the 2016 Heinz Eulau Award for their article in APSRhttp://www.politicalsciencenow.com/ariel-white-noah-nathan-and-julie-faller-receive-the-heinz-eulau-award-for-their-article-in-apsr/…