Evangelia Petridou wins prestigious Lasswell Prize
Evangelia Petridou, associate professor of political science at Mid Sweden University, together with four research colleagues, is awarded the internationally recognized Lasswell Prize for the best article of the year in the journal Policy Sciences.
The prize recognises research that provides new perspectives on how people influence political decision-making processes.
"There are many awards out there. What makes this particular award unique compared to others is that it bears the name of Harold Lasswell, a giant in the field," says Evangelia Petridou, Associate Professor of Political Science at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, HSV, and researcher at RCR, Risk and Crisis Research Centre at Mid Sweden University in Östersund.
With her article "Theorizing the functions and patterns of agency in the policymaking process", she has won the prestigious prize, which is awarded by the international scientific journal Policy Sciences. The purpose of the award is to recognize outstanding research and academic contributions in public policy and policy studies.
The article, which Evangelia Petridou wrote in collaboration with four international research colleagues, is about how people actually influence political decisions, beyond their formal titles and organizational roles. It shows that the same person can act as a leader, policy entrepreneur, bridge builder and expert at the same time, depending on the situation. By focusing on what people do rather than what role they have, the article provides a more realistic picture of how public policy is shaped in practice.
"A strong recognition"
Harold D. Lasswell was an influential political scientist who was one of the pioneers of policy science and political analysis. The prize consists of a small amount of money. But that is not the most important thing.
"Lasswell's work is standard literature in other disciplines outside of policy research. Being published in the journal Policy Sciences is difficult enough in itself, and winning the prize for the best article of the year is fantastic and a strong recognition of my work in public policy and policy entrepreneurship," says Evangelia Petridou.