Javier Pérez Sandoval’s dissertation wins American Political Science Association Award
The Department is delighted to announce that Politics DPhil alumnus Dr Javier Pérez Sandoval is the recipient of the 2022 William Anderson Award, for the best doctoral dissertation in the general field of federalism or intergovernmental relations, state, and local politics.
The award, which is given annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) recognises the exceptional quality of his research on The Origins of Subnational Democracy: How Colonial Legacies and Labor Incorporation Shaped Regime Heterogeneity within Latin American Countries.
His dissertation–the first comparative, and historically grounded explanation of the origins of subnational democracy–asked why some provinces within countries are more democratic than others. Leveraging quantitative and qualitative evidence from Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, he showed that by shaping the salience of the subnational political arena, the colonial crucible created more (or less) advantageous conditions for economic development and organised labour to emerge early in some but not all provinces. This in turn allowed democracy to emerge in some, but not all, subnational units.
His two-step, path-dependent argument impressed the APSA Award Committee, comprised of Allyson Benton (University of Essex) as chair, Gwen Arnold (University of California, Davis), and Philip Rocco (Marquette university), who commented that the dissertation offers “a truly important contribution to the field, with findings that [he] hope[s] will be read and cited widely”. Javier will receive a cash prize of $750 and receive his award at the APSA Awards Ceremony held in conjunction with the APSA Annual Meeting in Montréal on 14 September.
Javier said: "I am delighted, honoured, and humbled that my thesis has been recognised with the 2022 William Anderson Award by the American Political Science Association. I cannot express how thankful I am for the constant support of my supervisor, my professors and colleagues at Oxford, and of course, the unwavering love of my friends and family. I see this award as vote of confidence on my research agenda on the causes and consequences of subnational democratic variation, and as an invitation to keep at it. This of course makes me incredibly excited for upcoming projects and the future of my work!"
Javier is currently a Stipendiary Lecturer in Politics at Pembroke College and a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Manchester .
I cannot express how thankful I am for the constant support of my supervisor, my professors and colleagues at Oxford, and of course, the unwavering love of my friends and family.
