“I am honored to receive the award for my joint work with Emmy Lindstam. I gratefully acknowledge the immense support and feedback the project received from Aarhus University and colleagues, who contributed in no small way to the project’s development,” Nicholas Haas says about receiving the award.

American Political Science Association honours the researchers with the award APSA Experimental Research Section’s Best Paper Award 2021 for their article “My History or Our History? Historical Revisionism and Entitlement to Lead".

“We commend the authors on a job well done. This paper will make a serious contribution to our understanding of the way national identity is constituted, and the way marginalised groups fit into it,” the citation from the assessment committee states.

The jury is impressed by the researchers’ use of an innovative survey experiment in India and emphasises that they address a critical and timely question in political science.

“In the paper, we ask if the way in which a nation's history is portrayed has implications for which social groups are viewed as being entitled to – and which groups ultimately do – speak on its behalf. Our findings suggest that inclusive historical narratives – those which emphasise marginalised communities' positive contributions to the nation – have the potential to increase marginalised individuals' willingness to pursue leadership roles,” says Nicholas Haas.

Further info

• More about Nicholas Haas and his research 
• Last year, Nicholas Haas received a Lawrence Longley Award from American Political Science Association. Read the news article here.
• About PhD student Emmy Lindstam from University of Mannheim.