2026 Summer Academy: May 31 to June 4

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What is CAPE?

The annual CAPE Summer Academy is designed to introduce the APE framework to interested graduate students and junior faculty, facilitate in-depth discussions around several key areas within APE, and create opportunities for participants to share work in progress and get feedback on research designs or proposals.
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Call for Applications:

The 7th annual Summer Academy

We are pleased to announce applications are open for CAPE’s annual Summer Academy, which will be held at UC Berkeley, from May 31 to June 4, 2026.

The Summer Academy is designed to introduce the APE framework to the next generation of scholars and to foster a robust research community. We invite applications from advanced graduate students (ABD), postdoctoral associates, and junior faculty. Funding for travel, meals, and lodging will be provided for all selected participants.

Participants in this intensive workshop will have the opportunity to:

  1. Learn the foundations of the APE framework and its approach to central topics in political science.
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  2. Participate in guided discussions with leading faculty members whose research spans several key aspects of APE including race, local governance and housing, labor politics, political parties, and American political institutions.
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  3. Present working papers or research designs and receive feedback from senior facilitating scholars working on similar topics.
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  4. Join a community of other scholars interested in pursuing research on vital issues related to the American political economy.
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Application Requirements

All application materials should be submitted via the online form, by Saturday, February 28, 2026, at 11:59 PM (PT). Please include the following file:

  • ‍CV: Detailing your research experience and list of publications (and for graduate students, relevant coursework).‍
  • Cover Letter: (1-2 pages) Describing your relevant research interests in APE and explaining how the Summer Academy will advance your professional development.
  • Research Sample: Either a work in progress or published work that demonstrates engagement with the field of American Political Economy.
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We anticipate selecting 16-20 participants. Applicants will be informed of the status of their applications by the end of March.

Questions? Scroll down to learn about previous summer academies in the event-archive or email us at info@americanpoliticaleconomy.org

We look forward to eager applicants and an enriching event!

CAPE‍

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SUMMER ACADEMY Archives

Browse our highlights from past events.
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020

The 6th Summer Academy was held in Berkeley California from May 28 to 31, and featured roundtable discussions of participants’ works in progress, a panel and methods and APE, and a series of lectures and discussions led by invited speakers:

Alex Hertel-Fernandez, Columbia

American Political Economy: An Introduction

Jake Grumbach, UC Berkeley

Money and American Democracy

Lisa Miller, Rutgers

Rethinking National Political Institutions through a Political Economy Lens

Chloe Thurston, Northwestern

Race and the American Political Economy

Paul Pierson, UC Berkeley

Long Party Coalitions and the American Political Economy

Kathleen Thelen, MIT

Business and the  Courts in the American Political Economy

Andreas Wiedemann, Princeton

Space, Place, and Housing

Kathy Cramer, Wisconsin–Madison

Understanding  Individuals' Political Responses to Economic Experience

Sarah Anzia, UC Berkeley

How Local and  State Politics Shape the National Political Economy

Jacob Hacker, Yale

Center-Left Parties in the Knowledge Economy

Alex Hertel-Fernandez, Columbia

Understanding the Resurgence of Laborism Without Labor

Abe Newman, Georgetown

IPE

Peter Hall, Harvard

Rightwing Populism: Where has it come from? Where is it going?

The 5th Summer Academy was held in Berkeley California from May 20 to 23, and featured roundtable discussions of participants’ works in progress, a panel and methods and APE, and a series of lectures and discussions led by invited speakers:

Paul Pierson, UC Berkeley

American Political Economy: An Introduction

Jake Grumbach, UC Berkeley

Money and American Democracy

Nathan Kelly, University of Tennessee

Piecing Together a Political Economy of U.S. Political Institutions

Chase Foster;
Kathleen Thelen, MIT

American Anti-Trust in Comparative Perspective

Chloe Thurston, Northwestern

Racial Capitalism and the Study of APE

Brian Ligober, Northwestern

The Politics of Regulation in the United States

Alex Hertel-Fernandez, Columbia

Understanding the Resurgence of Laborism Without Labor

Sarah Anzia, UC Berkeley

Local Political Economy

Jacob Hacker, Yale;
Paul Pierson, UC Berkeley

Long Party Coalitions and the American Political Economy

Kathy Cramer, Wisconsin–Madison

Understanding Individuals' Political Responses to Economic Experience

Jane Gingrich, University of Oxford

Industrial Policy Revisited

The 4th Summer Academy was held in Berkeley California from June 12 to 14, and featured roundtable discussions of participants’ works in progress as well as a series of lectures and discussions led by invited speakers:

Jacob Hacker, Yale;
Paul Pierson, UC Berkeley

American Political Economy: An Introduction

Margaret Weir, University of Chicago

Politics, Markets, and Places

Nathan Kelly, University of Tennessee

Democratic Institutions & APE

Jonas Meckling, UC Berkeley

The Politics of Climate Policy

Chloe Thurston, Northwestern

Race and American Political Economy

Jamila Michener, Cornell

APE from the Margins

Neil Fligstein, UC Berkeley

An Introduction to Economic Sociology

Peter Hall, Harvard

Populism and the Political Economy

Jake Grumbach, UC Berkeley

Labor and Multiracial Democracy

Kathleen Thelen, MIT

The Origins of the Amazon Economy

Jacob Hacker, Yale;
Paul Pierson, UC Berkeley

The Shifting Democratic Party

The 3rd Summer Academy was held in Cambridge Massachusetts from June 20 to 23, and featured roundtable discussions of participants’ works in progress as well as a series of lectures and discussions led by invited speakers:

Paul Pierson, UC Berkeley

The Local Political Economy of Housing

Chloe Thurston, Northwestern

Race and Housing Policy

Margaret Weir, University of Chicago

Local Governance and Federalism 

Nathan Kelly, University of Tennessee

American Political Institutions

Herman Mark Schwartz, UVA

APE in an International Perspective

The 2nd Summer Academy was held virtually from June 28 to July 1, 2021 and featured roundtable discussions of participants’ works in progress as well as a series of lectures and discussions led by invited speakers:

What is American Political Economy

Margaret Weir, University of Chicago

Local Governance and Housing Policy

Dan Galvin, Northwestern

Labor and the Party System

Peter Hall, Harvard

Populism

Jamila Michener, Cornell

Race and Social Policy

The inaugural Summer Academy was held virtually from August 10 to 13, 2020 and featured roundtable discussions of participants’ works in progress as well as a series of lectures and discussions led by invited speakers:

Paul Pierson, Berkeley;
Kathleen Thelen, MIT

American Political Economy: An Introduction

Jake Grumbach, UC Berkeley

Federalism

Jane Gingrich, University of Oxford

Social Policy

Ben Braun, LSE

Finance and Corporate Governance

Chloe Thurston, Northwestern

Race

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