This year’s winner of the McDougall Trust prize was Daniel Casey, a lecturer from the School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University.

His dissertation title was ‘The Opinion-Agenda Linkage:  How Letters From the Public to the Prime Minister Impact the Policy Agenda’

The judges said: “This is an impressive thesis that makes novel theoretical and empirical advances in the field of political representation. Clearly articulated and persuasive in its analyses, it is a deserving winner of this prize.”