Illustration: Anna Ileby
25 Apr 2024
The Johan Skytte Foundation is delighted to announce that Jürgen Habermas is awarded the 2024 Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science.
Habermas is honored for having “constantly reminded us, theoretically and empirically, that the very lifeblood of democracy depends on human capacity and willingness to respect others by means of communicative action and on that basis to engage in critical argumentation and discourse.”
The Skytte Prize is widely regarded as the most esteemed honour in political science, often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Political Science”. It is awarded annually to scholars who have made outstanding and ground-breaking contributions to the understanding of political science and its relevance in the world today. The prize committee, comprising an international group of scholars, selects the laureates based on nominations received from the academic community.
Jürgen Habermas has set his stamp on political science, the social sciences and the humanities in general as few other intellectuals have throughout the long post-war era. Habermas has been shaped by a European tradition of thought dominated by a holistic view on knowledge about human beings and the human condition, rather than disciplinary boundaries. Faithful to that tradition, Habermas has therefore made critical contributions to both the understanding of the emergence of a European, educated public sphere and the question of what ultimately makes democracy possible and the contemporary lines of development within Europe, politically and economically. Although he is commonly described as a social theorist and philosopher, Jürgen Habermas has had monumental impact on political science.
The Skytte Prize, which includes a cash award of SEK 500,000 and a medal, will be presented to Habermas and last year’s Skytte prize winners Alexander Wendt and Martha Finnemore at a grand ceremony held at Uppsala University on September 14, 2024. This year’s award marks the 30th consecutive year of recognising excellence in political science.
Read the prize announcement article, penned by Professor Skytteana Li Bennich-Björkman, here.
Media Contact:
Dr. Michal Grahn
+46 700 66 49 26