Rice political scientist recognized with lifetime achievement award

Ashley Leeds, department chair and professor of political science at Rice University, is the recipient of the American Political Science Association’s Conflict Processes Section’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Leeds received the honor on Aug. 30 in Washington, D.C.

Ashley Leeds accepts her award. Submitted photo.

The biannual award is given in recognition of scholarly contributions that have fundamentally improved the study of conflict processes, according to the APSA’s website.

“Militarized conflict among countries and among groups within countries has terrible consequences,” Leeds said. “Scientific research that helps us to learn how to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts among people plays an important role in improving the human condition, and to be acknowledged as having contributed significantly to that is a great honor. I share this award with my mentors and my students, without whom my work would not have been the same.”

Leeds’ work focuses on the design and effects of military alliances. Her research examines how countries design security commitments, the effect of those commitments on the emergence of military conflict and the conditions under which leaders fulfill or abandon alliances.

Founded in 1903, the American Political Science Association (APSA) is the leading professional organization for the study of political science and serves more than 11,000 members in more than 100 countries. With a range of programs and services for individuals, departments and institutions, APSA brings together political scientists from all fields of inquiry, regions and occupational endeavors within and outside academia to deepen the understanding of politics, democracy and citizenship throughout the world.

More information on Leeds and her research is available online at https://politicalscience.rice.edu/ashley-leeds.