In the past few months, a jury of Dutch and Flemish political scientists – Steven Van de Walle (KU Leuven) ,Pauline Ketelaars (UAntwerpen), Marcel Boogers (UTwente), Aneta Spendzharova (UMaastricht) and Paul Pennings (VU) – assessed 68 eligible dissertations defended in 2017. Six of these dissertations were nominated for the Jaarpijs. Congratulations to the nominees! The Els Witte Jaarprijs will be awarded at the Politicologenetmaal, June 7th, at Leiden University.The nominees and dissertations are, in alphabetical order:

Leila Demarest, Scarcity and Social Disorder in Africa: A Critical Analysis (KU Leuven)

QinQiang He, Issue cross-pressures and electoral behavior in Western Europe (Twente University)

Floortje Keuleers, European Union and Chinese Strategic Narratives towards Africa: A Mixed Methods Study of Reception by African Audiences (KU Leuven)

Fransje Molenaar, Changing the rules of the game. The development and reform of party law in Latin America (Leiden University)

Nadine Raaphorst, Uncertainty in Bureaucracy: Towards a sociological understanding of frontline decision making (Erasmus University)

Wouter Van Acker, Sustainable Public Sector Innovations (KU Leuven)