Isabel M. Perera, assistant professor of government in the College of Arts and Sciences, is the winner of the 2026 European Studies Book Award from the Council for European Studies for “The Welfare Workforce: Why Mental Health Care Varies Across Affluent Democracies,” an open-access publication from Cambridge University Press.

Credit: College of Arts and Sciences

Chosen by a multidisciplinary jury composed of scholars from the humanities and social sciences, Perera’s book stood out this year “for its theoretical rigor, scope and impact,” said Abigail E. Lewis, executive director of the Council for European Studies (CES). 

In the book, Perera investigates the wide variation in services provided to those with mental health challenges – including schizophrenia, chronic depression and severe bipolar disorder – in countries with otherwise similar health systems and social policies, such as Norway and Sweden.

“In some countries, such as the United States, policymakers closed hospitals but failed to replace them with adequate social and medical supports,” Perera writes. “Other countries, though, developed much more expansive public mental health care systems.”

Read the full story on the College of Arts and Sciences website.