Adam Auerbach, Shikhar Singh, and Tariq Thachil Receive the 2026 Heinz I. Eulau Award for American Political Science Review for “Who Knows How to Govern? Procedural Knowledge in India’s Small-Town Councils” -
The Heinz I. Eulau Award is presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor the best article published in the APSA journal American Political Science Review Citation from the Award Committee: This paper examines [. . . ]
TheHeinz I. Eulau Awardis presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor the best article published in the APSA journal American Political Science ReviewCitation from the Award Committee:This paper examines the question, “Are local officials sufficiently knowledgeable about how to execute their expanded portfolio of responsibilities?” The authors have conducted an extensive amount of fieldwork in order to create an innovative survey. They have interviewed several politicians who serve in India’s small towns and find that these local officials have “distressingly low levels of procedural knowledge on how to govern. ” This often makes it difficult for them to represent their constituents. This research emphasizes the importance of both understanding and assessing “knowledge deficits” among politicians in order for there to be effective governance. In addition, the authors argue that “formal training” is necessary in communities of this kind, but such training is often absent. The committee unanimously selected this paper because it is well-written and informative, but also because the information that it provides about local governance is relevant in India and in other communities around the world. Adam Auerbachis Associate Professor of Political Science at Yale University. He is the author ofDemanding Development: The Politics of Public Goods Provision in India’s Urban Slums(Cambridge University Press, 2020) and co-author ofMigrants and Machine Politics: How India’s Urban Poor Seek Representation and Responsiveness(Princeton University Press, 2023). Shikhar Singhis an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Duke University. He researches political behavior and the political economy of development, with a focus on South Asia. Shikhar is currently working on a book project that examines the technological shifts in India’s welfare state and how the adoption of digital public infrastructure shapes voting behavior. In other work, he looks at why decentralization of power to urban municipal authorities often fails to improve governance and political responsiveness, and why citizens don’t hold elected officials accountable for environmental crises like air pollution. Shikhar received a PhD in Political Science from Yale University, a B. A. in History and Politics from Balliol College, Oxford, where he was an Inlaks scholar, and a B. A. in History from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. Tariq Thachilis Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on political parties and political behavior, identity politics, urbanization and migration, with a regional focus on India. He has written two books, including most recentlyMigrants and Machine Politics, published by Princeton University Press (Studies in Political Behavior) in 2023. The book received the 2025 Ananda K. Coomaraswamy Prize for best non-first book on South Asia from the Association of Asian Studies, the 2025 Frankel Prize for Best Book from APSA’s South Asian Politics section, the 2024 Sartori Book Prize for best book from APSA’s Qualitative and Multi-Method Research Section, and the 2024 Best Book Prize from APSA’s Experimental Research Section. His articles are published or forthcoming in theAmerican Journal of Political Science,American Political Science Review,Comparative Politics,Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Politics,World Politics, and other outlets, and have won the 2018 Heinz Eulau Prize for best article published in theAmerican Political Science Review, and 2020American Journal of Political ScienceBest Article Award. APSA thanks the committee members for their service:Sharon Austin (Chair) of the University of Florida, Ariel White of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Nicholas Clark ofSusquehanna University.