The Middle East and North Africa Politics Section of the American Political Science Association (APSA) seek nominations for several awards recognizing exceptional contributions to the field that integrate the study of the politics of the Middle East and North Africa with the broader discipline of Political Science. Consistent with the values expressed in the Section’s diversity statement, work utilizing any methodological, theoretical, and empirical tools will be considered. All nominations must be submitted by February 1, 2025, to be considered. Winners will be selected by a committee and announced at the MENA Politics reception at the 2025 APSA Annual Conference.
Best Book on MENA Politics
Awarded for the best book published in the previous year (January-December 2024). Monographs utilizing any methodological, theoretical, and empirical tools for the study of the politics of the Middle East and North Africa will be considered. Edited volumes, handbooks, and similar works will not be considered. If there are sufficient nominations, the award committee may choose to split the award into “first book” and “second+ book” categories. Please submit nominations or self-nominations to the award committee with the subject heading “MENA Politics Best Book Nomination” at apsamena@gmail.com by February 1, 2025. If you can send physical copies of the books, please note this in your nomination, and we will get back to you with the three addresses to send the books to. Otherwise, you can also send e-book or digital copies to apsamena@gmail.com . Members of the award committee who have worked closely with a nominee (as advisor, dissertation committee member, co-author, etc.) will recuse themselves from deliberation over that nominee’s work.
Best Book Award Committee
Jillian Schwedler (chair), js1287@hunter.cuny.edu
Sharan Grewal, sgrewal@american.edu
Youssef El Chazli, y.el@uniandes.edu.co
Best Article on MENA Politics
Awarded for the best article published in a peer-reviewed journal the previous year (January-December 2024). Articles utilizing any methodological, theoretical, and empirical tools for the study of the politics of the Middle East and North Africa will be considered. Should sufficient nominees exist, the committee may also consider recognizing any submission for a “Best Fieldwork” or “Best Dataset” sub-award. Please submit nominations or self-nominations, with the article attached to the award committee with the subject heading “MENA Politics Best Journal Article Nomination” at apsamena@gmail.com by February 1, 2025.
Best Article Award Committee
Chair: Pete Moore (chair), pwm10@case.edu
Dana El-Kurd, danaelkurd@gmail.com
Morten Valbjørn, mortenV@ps.au.dk
Best Dissertation on MENA Politics
Awarded for the best doctoral thesis defended in the previous academic year. (August-July). To be considered, the dissertation must be nominated by the dissertation adviser or another faculty member familiar with the work; self-nominations are not permitted, and dissertations may only be nominated once. The nominator should submit a short letter explaining why the dissertation makes an exceptional contribution to the study of the politics of the Middle East and the broader discipline of Political Science; this letter should also indicate if any portion of the dissertation has been published in article format and/or if it is being nominated for another section award. Work utilizing any methodological, theoretical, and empirical tools for the study of the politics of the Middle East and North Africa will be considered. Please submit nomination letters, with the dissertation as a PDF attachment, to the chair of the award committee with the subject heading “MENA Politics Best Dissertation Nomination” at apsamena@gmail.com by February 1, 2025. A member of the selection committee may not nominate their own graduate student and will recuse themselves from deliberations over their student’s work should it be nominated.
Best Dissertation Award Committee
Wendy Pearlman (chair), pearlman@northwestern.edu
Jasmine Ghani, jkng@st-andrews.ac.uk
Lisel Hintz, lhintz1@jhu.edu
Best Paper on MENA Politics
Awarded for the best conference paper presented at the previous annual meeting (2024) of the APSA. Papers utilizing any methodological, theoretical, and empirical tools for the study of the politics of the Middle East and North Africa will be considered. Please submit nominations or self-nominations, with the nominated paper attached, to the award committee with the subject heading “MENA Politics Best Paper Nomination” at apsamena@gmail.com by February 1, 2025.
Best Paper Award Committee
Neil Ketchley (chair), neil.ketchley@politics.ox.ac.uk
Summer Forester, sforester@carleton.edu
Elizabeth Parker-Magyar, ekpm@mit.edu