The William Anderson Award is presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor the best dissertation in the general field of federalism or intergovernmental relations, state, and local politics. Citation from the Award Committee: The winner of the 2025 William Anderson Award is “The Subnational Roots of Democratic Stability” by Julian Michel (UCLA). In this dissertation, Michel takes on a timely and important question: How can the politics of subnational governments serve to bolster democracy in countries around the world?

Evidence from Sierra Leone shows that digital participatory budgeting can increase government legitimacy in weak states but only increases tax compliance for supporters of the incumbent government.