Francis Fukuyama, Winner of the 2015 Johan Skytte Prize

(Official statement from the Johan Skytte Prize website)

Francis Fukuyama, Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) at Stanford University, is awarded the 2015 Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science. He receives it for having with “breath-taking learnedness, clarity and courage thrown new light over the growth of modern political order.”

The Johan Skytte Prize is awarded for the 21st year by the Johan Skytte Foundation at Uppsala University in a ceremony which will take place in Uppsala on 3 October 2015. More detailed information about the ceremony (including a detailed programme) shall be provided here in early September.

Starting in early China centuries before Christ, Fukuyama’s The Origins of Political Order (2011) and Political Order and Political Decay (2014) elaborate on the various forms of political order and origins of decay in the great civilizations of China, India, the Middle East, and the Arab world. Europe and the United States is thus one of several civilizations, but one where the crucial components of order; a central state, rule of law and accountable government, have coincided.

In a remarkable tour de force, Fukuyama in two volumes covers the human strive for political organization, an organization that can secure the survival of the ‘herd’ both physically and materially, says Li Bennich-Björkman, Johan Skytte professor in eloquence and political science and chair of the Prize Committee.

Click here for the official press release (in English) by Uppsala University.

We would like to use this opportunity to introduce a new book entitled: Johan Skytte, his donation in 1622 and the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science written by Nils-Axel Mörner and Li Bennich-Björkman (2014). Click here for more information on how to get hold of a hard copy. 


About the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science

The Skytte Foundation at Uppsala University has established an annual prize, The Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science, to the scholar who in the view of the Foundation has made the most valuable contribution to Political Science. Research in all areas of the discipline is considered: political theory, comparative politics, public administration and international relations. The prize consists of a medal and an award of approximately 50.000 EUR.

After international nominations each year (deadline for this year is December 18, 2015) the candidates are evaluated by the Prize Committee. The decision is then made in early April by the Board of the Foundation (Nils-Axel Mörner, patron and chairman, Li Bennich-Björkman, vice chair, Jonas Mörner, secretary, Anders Barth, treasurer, Jacob Lagercrantz and Anders Hallberg).
Johan Skytte

About Johan Skytte

Johan Skytte (1577-1645) was a leading politician in 17th century Swedish political life: a scholar, skilled in Latin and a master of eloquence, the prince's teacher, member of the government, governor, diplomat and a great land owner.

The Chair, established to provide for the education of higher civil servants, was his gift as University Chancellor to Uppsala University. The Johan Skytte chair in Eloquence and Government was founded in 1622 and is today one of the oldest professorships in the world. The farms that were part of the initial donation still help to finance research, including the Prize.
Skytteanum & Department of Government


About the Skytteanum and Department of Government

The Johan Skytte house in Uppsala, the originally medieval building called the Skytteanum, is still used by the Department of Government and the Johan Skytte Professor has his/her residence in the building. Li Bennich-Björkman is the 21st Professor Skytteanus and the first woman to ever hold the chair.

The Department of Government offers BA-, MA-, and PhD degrees in Political Science and Development Studies. It has about 1000 undergraduate students, 40 PhD-candidates, 15 professors and an additional staff of 25 persons. Four to five PhD theses are presented every year. The Department is mainly research-oriented: two thirds of the budget covers research, one third education.