USA

Josiah Ober

2025 Balzan Prize for Classics: Athenian Democracy Revisited

For his groundbreaking research on the origins and functioning of Athenian democracy in classical times, which has had an influence far beyond the academic world. Ober has identified the factors behind its success using a refreshing, interdisciplinary approach that constantly draws comparisons with the present day, thus bringing these findings into contemporary socio-political debate.

Stanford University