Webster Vienna Rector Pollak Wins Prestigious Science & Democracy Prize

Prof. Dr. Johannes Pollak, Webster Vienna Private University's rector and chairman of the executive board of the Institute for European Politics, has been awarded the prestigious 2021 Science Prize of the Margaretha Lupac Foundation. This award honors the lifetime achievements of scholars who deal in-depth with the challenges and strengths of democracy and parliamentarianism in both the regional and global fields.

The foundation, established by the Austrian Parliament based on an endowment of the late Margaretha Lupac, is dedicated to the promotion and strengthening of democracy, parliamentarianism, and tolerance in the discourse on politics, the arts and social development. As emphasized by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and President of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka, the recipients of the award “focus on the topics which highlight the constant work on and for democracy with a critical and awake view.”

The foundation recognized Prof. Pollak’s three decades of research on democracy and European Integration and his insightful ability to combine political theory with practice.

“I am honored to see my work recognized by the esteemed board of trustees. Liberal democracies are facing tremendous challenges that endanger the foundations of our freedom. Analyzing and understanding those challenges has been the primary motivation of my research," Pollak said.

Pollak will receive the prize in Spring 2022 as part of a ceremony in the Austrian Parliament.