Tanushree Goyal, assistant professor of politics and international affairs, won the the 2022 Mancur Olson Best Dissertation Award in the field of political economy by the American Political Science Association (APSA).

Her dissertation, “Representation From Below: How Women Mobilize Inside Parties,” offers a novel perspective about how women’s representation enhances democracy and development in low- and middle-income countries, showing that women are more likely than men to recruit women as grassroots party activists, which helps them accomplish change. 

Goyal asserts that women's entry into political parties fundamentally alters party institutions and democracy for good. Her dissertation’s theory is based on in-depth fieldwork and qualitative evidence collected in the Indian setting, and the dissertation provides causal evidence using surveys and natural experiments in India and Brazil.

Goyal joins the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs as an assistant professor of politics and international affairs, effective July 1, 2022. She specializes in comparative politics, gender and politics, the political economy of development.

She will receive her award in person on Sept. 16, 2022, at the APSA Annual Meeting in Montreal.