DPIR alumnus Dr Daniel Barker Flores wins top APSA Award for best dissertation in the field of comparative politics
Congratulations to DPIR alumnus Dr Daniel Barker Flores, who has won the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Gabriel A. Almond Award for the best dissertation in the field of comparative politics. This is the first time in its history that the award has been won at an institution outside of the United States.
Dr Barker Flores’ award-winning thesis is entitled ‘Coercion, Capital, and The Latin American City: Understanding Territorial Control and Governance in Marginalised Urban Communities’.
It examines why some Latin American cities are successful at reducing the power of armed criminal groups in poor neighbourhoods and establishing effective government control, while others are not. Furthermore, it identifies the factors that help governments gain and maintain authority in these areas. To carry out this research, Daniel undertook hundreds of interviews and conducting field research in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
On receiving this award, Daniel commented:
I am deeply honored for my research to have been recognized in this way by APSA. My doctoral research took me across Latin America, leading to many extraordinary experiences and conversations. For it to now culminate in this achievement is wholly unexpected but immensely gratifying. I owe thanks to many people around the world for this, but would like to publicly express my gratitude to several mentors at Oxford: thank you to Ezequiel González Ocantos and Leigh Payne for their feedback at key milestones of the DPhil, David Doyle for his support throughout my postgraduate career, and above all my supervisor, Tim Power, for his guidance over the last several years.
Dr Barker Flores is currently a Senior Teaching Associate at the University of Hong Kong’s Department of Politics and Public Administration, prior to which he studied for a DPhil in Politics at DPIR. He was also a lecturer in International Relations at Pembroke College.
He is currently developing research articles exploring the politics of police reform, how organised criminal groups influence subnational democracy, and how gangs construct systems of local-level order in urban settings.
APSA recognises and honours the work of various scholars who have made outstanding contributions to political science research, teaching and service through its awards program.
This year’s winners will be honoured at the 2026 APSA Awards Reception in Boston, MA during the 2026 APSA Annual Meeting and Exhibition in September this year.
