Political scientist scores publication award
Professor Micha毛l Tatham honoured by the Faculty of Social Sciences for his volume on European regions, which was published by Oxford University Press.
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Professor Micha毛l Tatham from the Department of Comparative Politics聽has authored the University of聽Bergen鈥檚 (UiB) best social-science publication of the past year.
That鈥檚 the decision of the Faculty of Social Science board, who awarded聽Tatham its 2017 Publication Prize.
The prize was awarded June 13, and聽recognizes the best聽social science book, chapter or paper published by a UiB researcher聽that best exemplifies 鈥渉igh scientific quality, originality and innovation鈥� in the previous year.
The prize is for Tatham鈥檚 work
Published last year, the book explores the political role of regions within the European Union. It reveals that while sub-state regions are increasingly vocal within the EU, they often speak in unison with their member states. This is especially the case when regions enjoy decentralized power.
In picking a prizewinner, the faculty board considered whether publications have generated new knowledge, were published by a top-flight publisher, and have garnered academic (and particularly international) attention.
Tatham鈥檚 work did all three, says Gunnar Grendstad, the chair of the Department of Comparative Politics. 聽
In nominating Tatham鈥檚 book, Grendstad lauded it as 鈥渢he culmination of 12 years of theoretical and empirical work. The book鈥檚 research is innovative and breaks new ground both theoretically and methodologically.鈥�
Grendstad noted that the book contravenes prior assumptions about regional behaviour. It was published by Oxford University Press, among the foremost academic publishing houses. And it quickly garnered scholarly attention, including raves in several academic journals.聽
鈥淚t is unusual for a book to be so quickly reviewed in international peer-reviewed journals,鈥� Grendstad wrote. 鈥淎ll reviews acclaimed the book as a major contribution.鈥�
The prize comes with an award of 25,000 kroners.聽
This is the second year in a row that a SAMPOL scholar has won the Social Science Faculty Publication Prize. Last year鈥檚 recipient was Professor Georg Picot, for his article 鈥淓uropean Welfare States and Migrant Poverty: The Institutional Determinants of Disadvantage.鈥澛�
