Dr Tobias Schillings, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Chair of International Relations and the Professorship of Global Health, has been awarded the 2026 PSA Dissertation Prize for Comparative Politics. The prize is awarded by the Political Studies Association and recognises outstanding doctoral research in the field of comparative politics.

The award recognises his dissertation, The Political Economy of Universal Healthcare: A Global Comparative Perspective, completed at the University of Oxford. It examines why countries expand healthcare in universal or segmented ways, and what these choices mean for inequality, redistribution, and social trust.

The dissertation develops a new conceptualisation and global measurement of healthcare universalism, drawing on comparative data spanning over 200 countries and three decades. It shows that universal health systems strengthen redistribution and social cohesion worldwide, and investigates the political conditions under which governments in the Global South pursue inclusive rather than segmented reforms for healthcare expansion.

At TUM, Dr Schillings’ current research builds on this work by examining how institutions and technological change shape inequality, public opinion, and legitimacy in health systems.