Theda Skocpol Awarded the 2007 Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science

The Skytte Foundation at Uppsala University, Sweden, has awarded the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science for 2007 to Professor Theda Skocpol (Harvard University) for her "visionary analysis of the significance of the state for revolutions, welfare and political trust, pursued with theoretical depth and empirical evidence".

Professor Skocpol, who served as President of the American Political Science Association from 2002-2003, is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology and Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. She also served as Director of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard from 1999 to 2006. 

The Skytte Prize was established in 1994 from the donation made in 1622 by Johan Skytte, a member of the Swedish government and Chancellor of Uppsala University. Consisting of an award of $50,000, the prize is one of the largest and most prestigious in political science. Earlier winners include noted political scientists Robert Dahl (1995), Juan Linz (1996), Arend Lijphart (1997), Alexander George (1998), Elinor Ostrom (1999), Fritz Scharpf (2000), Brian Barry (2001), Sidney Verba (2002), Hanna Pitkin (2003), Jean Blondel (2004), Robert Keohane (2005), and Robert Putnam (2006). Annual nominations are made from around the world to a prize committee at Uppsala University by November 30. The official decision is made by the Skytte Foundation. The Skytte Prize will be awarded to Professor Skocpol in a ceremony in Uppsala on September 29, 2007.

For more on the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science, see www.statsvet.uu.se/prize/.