Brian Barry Prize in Political Science

Assistant Professor Faik Kurtulmuş was awarded the Brian Barry Prize in Political Science for his essay 'Learning from the Enemies of Freedom: Freedom of Expression and Collective Power'

Faik Kurtulmuş is an Assistant Professor of Political Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Sabancı University, Istanbul. His research explores how social structures shape what we can come to know and how what we know influences our opportunities for flourishing and exercising agency as free and equal citizens. His work has appeared in journals such as the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Synthese, Utilitas, Episteme, Journal of Applied Philosophy, and Political Studies. Currently, he is working with Gürol Irzık on a book tentatively titled 'Justice in the Distribution of Knowledge'.

"I am deeply honoured to have been awarded the 2024 Brian Barry Prize. Barry's work, a model of clarity, engagement with empirical research, and strength of conviction, has always been a source of inspiration. He was both a staunch defender of freedom of expression and an advocate for empowering citizens to shape their common life.

"In his paper ‘The Continuing Relevance of Socialism’, Barry noted that the champions of unregulated markets like Thatcher limit basic liberties, despite their self-proclaimed commitment to individual liberty. But this was not paradoxical, despite appearances, because 'even under the most repressive conditions conditions—in Soweto or the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, say—people seek to act collectively in order to improve things for themselves, and it requires an enormous exercise of brutal coercion in order to fragment these efforts at organization and force people to pursue their interests individually'.

"This observation underscores the intimate connection between freedom and collective agency, while highlighting threats to both even in democratic societies. My paper, which argues for the role of freedom of expression as a source of collective power, aims to combine these two commitments and remind us why freedom of expression has been cherished by disadvantaged groups."

– Faik Kurtulmuş, August 2024

Professor Göran Duus-Otterström was awarded the Brian Barry Prize for his essay 'Emissions Sufficientarianism and Climate Justice'

Göran Duus-Otterström is professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg as well as a researcher in the Institute for Futures Studies, Stockholm. He is a political theorist whose work mainly focuses on legal punishment and climate justice. He is currently co-principal investigator of the research programme “Climate Ethics and Future Generations” (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, 2018-2013) and has published widely on the normative aspects of climate policy, especially burden sharing justice and the relevance of historical responsibility for current duties to respond to climate change. His work has appeared in journals such as British Journal of Political Science, Environmental Politics, Global Environmental Change, and Law & Philosophy. He has previously held visiting or permanent positions at the University of Warwick (2008-2009), the University of St Gallen (2013), and Aarhus University (2017-2021).

"I am obviously delighted to have been awarded the 2023 Brian Barry prize and wish to express my gratitude to the British Academy for recognizing my work. Brian Barry was a towering figure in analytical political philosophy whose work continues to shape several contemporary debates - not least the topic of intergenerational justice, which my essay addresses.

"Though professor Barry did write insightfully and passionately about environmental issues and our responsibility to unborn generations, to my knowledge, he never got around to writing specifically about climate change and climate justice. This is a shame as we would all undoubtedly have benefited from hearing what he had to say about it. On a personal note, I would also have loved to know whether he would accept the conclusions I advance in the essay.

"Professor Barry’s influence on contemporary climate ethics is nevertheless immense via his pioneering work on the vexing questions that emerge once justice is applied between generations as opposed to between contemporaries.”

– Professor Göran Duus-Otterström, August 2022

Associate Professor Chiara Cordelli was awarded the Brian Barry Prize for her essay 'Freeing People, Restricting Capital'

Chiara Cordelli is associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago. She works on a variety of topics in political philosophy, including questions of distributive justice, political legitimacy, normative defenses of the state, and the ethics of philanthropy. She is the author of The Privatized State (Princeton University Press, 2020), which was awarded the 2021 ECPR Political Theory Prize for best first book in political theory, and of Privatocrazia (Mondadori 2022).

She has published articles in journals such as the American Political Science Review, Ethics, the Journal of Political Philosophy, the Journal of Politics and the British Journal of Political Science, among others. She is also the co-editor of Philanthropy in Democratic Societies (University of Chicago Press, 2016). Cordelli held visiting positions at Stanford (2011-13), Princeton (2014-15), Harvard (2018-19) and EHESS in Paris (2021-22).

"Receiving this year’s Brian Barry Prize from the British Academy is a great honour. This is especially true given the deep admiration I have for Professor Barry’s scholarship and for his exemplary ability to combine rigorous philosophical argument with the social sciences and social policy. The paper itself was first stimulated by Barry’s own writings on the mobility of capital, and I hope this prize will bring further attention to this not yet fully appreciated aspect of his work."

– Associate Professor Chiara Cordelli, August 2022

Not awarded

Associate Professor Jonathan Havercroft, University of Southampton, for 'Why is there no just riot theory?'

Jonathan Havercroft is an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Southampton. His research has appeared in International Studies Quarterly, Political Theory, Constellations, Polity, Review of International Studies, and Social Sciences Quarterly. He is the author of Captives of Sovereignty (Cambridge University Press, 2011) and the editor of the journal Global Constitutionalism.

His current research focuses on the normative analysis of political violence. During the 2020 – 2021 academic year he will be a British Academy Mid-Career Fellow working on a project entitled: “Just and Unjust Riots: A Normative Analysis of Militant Protest.”

“I am deeply honoured and humbled to receive this year’s Brian Barry Prize in Political Science. Professor Brian Barry taught at my institution, the University of Southampton, in the 1960s and wrote one of his major works Political Argument while there. As a scholar I take great inspiration from his lifelong commitment to fusing normative political theory with empirical political science. My current research on the normativity of riots attempts to do just that by combining the empirical analysis of political protest with traditional ethical analyses of political violence and obligation.”

– Professor Jonathan Havercroft, July 2020

Dr Andre Santos Campos, Nova University of Lisbon, for 'Representing the Future: The Interests of Future Persons in Representative Democracy'

Andre is a Research Fellow and Assistant Professor at the Nova University of Lisbon. He holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Lisbon (2009). His research interests lie in the intersection of political theory, jurisprudence and intellectual history. He is a member of the Nova Institute of Philosophy (Ifilnova), at the Nova School of Social Sciences and Humanities.

"I am both delighted and honoured to be this year's recipient of the Brian Barry Prize in Political Science. Professor Brian Barry was one of the first major political theorists to bring attention to the challenges posed by intergenerational justice to contemporary liberal democracies, especially concerning the future. This is undoubtedly one of the most pressing areas of research in political studies nowadays. To be able to contribute to it with my own research while following Professor Brian Barry's footsteps is a privilege I accept as carrying great responsibility."

- Andre Santos Campos, August 2019

Dr Zeynep Pamuk, St John's College, University of Oxford, for "Justifying Public Funding for Science"

Dr Jonathan White, London School of Economics and Political Science, for 'The Ethics of Political Alliance'

Professor William Roberts Clark, Texas A&M University, Professor Matt Golder, Pennsylvania State University, and Professor Sona N. Golder, Pennsylvania State University for 'An Exit, Voice, and Loyalty Model of Politics'

Dr Parashar Kulkarni, New York University, for 'Are There Cultural Prerequisites to Effective Property Rights?: Evidence from Inheritance Rights of Widows in Colonial India'

Dr Helder De Schutter, KU Leuven, and Dr Lea Ypi, LSE, for 'Mandatory Citizenship for Immigrants'

Submissions for the 2026 Brian Barry Prize will be accepted from 1 December 2025 until 28 February 2026 (closing time of 23:59 GMT). Submissions received after this date will not be considered.

• Eligible submissions must be an essay that has not been previously published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere
• The essay can address any topic in political science, as covered by the British Journal of Political Science, but essays in fields related to the work of Brian Barry will be especially welcome
• Essays may be submitted by anyone in possession of a first degree
• The prize is not open to current employees and Fellows of the British Academy, employees of Cambridge University Press, or the current Editors, Managing Editors or other administrative staff of the British Journal of Political Science
• The Prize cannot be awarded to the same person more than once
• Entries should be at least 8,000 and up to 10,000 words, including references, with an abstract of no more than 100 words

Before submission please carefully read the Brian Barry Prize FAQs.

Part 1: Complete the following submission form

Part 2: Send your anonymised essay as a PDF to [email protected]

Essays should be formatted in accordance with the Journal's style sheet.

If any of the above information is missing, the submission will not be considered.

Entrants should be aware that emails sent to [email protected] will be automatically forwarded to Anna Wylie (Senior Editorial Assistant, Cambridge University Press), who will reply via [email protected]. We suggest that you request a 'read receipt' when you send your email to ensure that it has been delivered. You will receive an email from Anna confirming receipt of your submission.

The winning entry will be published in the British Journal of Political Science as the 'British Academy Brian Barry Prize Essay' and the author or authors of the winning essay will receive £1,500 in total (ie, if there are three authors then they will receive £500 each).

If you have any queries about submitting a nomination, please consult the Brian Barry Prize FAQs or email [email protected].

• Launch and opening of the 2026 Brian Barry Prize: 1 December 2025
• Closing of submission period: 28 February 2026
• Prize assessment period: March-June 2026
• Prize recommendations made: July 2026
• Winner and unsuccessful applicants informed: End of July 2026
• Winner announced: October 2026