Neustadt Book Prize 2024 awarded to: Luca Trenta, The President’s Kill List: Assassination and US Foreign Policy since 1945 (Edinburgh University Press)

The Richard E. Neustadt book prize committee of the American Politics Group of the Political Studies Association is delighted to announce that this year’s prize has been awarded to Associate Professor Luca Trenta of Swansea University for his book The President’s Kill List: Assassination and US Foreign Policy since 1945 (Edinburgh University Press).

Commenting on the book, the committee said:

‘This is the first book to focus specifically on assassination as a tool of US foreign policy. The book systematically investigates US involvement in political killings around the world, from Patrice Lumumba to Qassem Soleimani. The book is well-documented and meticulously researched, important when dealing with such an emotive and explosive subject. In spite the topic’s notorious opacity, Trenta has been able to bring together a wealth of archival documents and interviews, acknowledging and plugging gaps. Meticulously following the chain of command, the book identifies how senior US decision-makers have targeted political leaders, even after a ban on assassination in the 1970s. In carefully documenting each attempt, this book undermines the element of plausible deniability that has been professed by US policymakers for decades. As Trenta summarises, ‘assassination is something the US government does not do, except when it does’.’

Speaking to the field of books for the prize, the committee said:

‘This was a very strong field of applicants, and the prize committee would like to congratulate all of the authors under consideration for the high quality of their work. It was a pleasure to read so many genuinely insightful books on US politics, written by impressive scholars in Britain and across Europe.’

Commenting on wining the prize, Luca said:

‘It was fantastic to receive the news about the Richard Neustadt Prize for my The President’s Kill List. APG and the community have been essential in my academic career since the first ever paper I presented as a PhD student. APG colleagues and friends have been very supportive of the book and their work has been essential in developing mine. The possibility of being alongside so many great scholars is something I immensely cherish.’

The 2024 Richard E. Neustadt Book Prize is made possible by the generous support of the Arthur Miller Institute for American Studies at University of East Anglia.