Bremen, 17 November 2025 – The 2025 Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought has been awarded to the internationally renowned political philosopher Prof. Dr Seyla Benhabib. She is recognised as an outstanding political and philosophical intellectual who takes the key political challenges of our time as the starting point for her theoretical analyses: be it migration, feminism, political belonging or international conflicts. In doing so, she does not confine herself to theoretical writings, but intervenes fearlessly in public debates. Where others tend to escalate tensions and harden divisions, she draws attention to nuances and takes account of the diversity of perspectives. With her ‘thinking without railings’ (Hannah Arendt), Benhabib remains independent in her judgement – a judgement that incorporates the various perspectives of others and thus opens up spaces for further discourse, particularly in heated social debates. She combines critical theory, feminist theory and cosmopolitanism with the writings of Hannah Arendt to form an original perspective in political theory.
The jury is also taking this year’s award ceremony as an opportunity to express special recognition for the imprisoned Russian opposition figure Alexei Gorinov. His example epitomises a form of political thinking grounded in integrity and courage. Where other forms of resistance are scarcely possible, moral resistance lends new meaning to central concepts such as freedom and human rights; people like Gorinov understand the value of these concepts and restore their weight and significance. The general public should therefore be made aware of Gorinov’s resistance.
The Hannah Arendt Prize award ceremony for Seyla Benhabib will take place on 9 December 2025 at 7.00 pm in the Upper Hall of Bremen Town Hall. The prize money, worth 10,000 euros, is funded by the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and the Heinrich Böll Foundation. The laudatory address will be delivered by the philosopher Professor Dr Dieter Thomä.
The 2025 Hannah Arendt Prize for Seyla Benhabib will be accompanied by a symposium.
On 10 December, Prof. Benhabib will take part in the symposium ‘The Future of Democracy in Authoritarian Times’ at the Bamberger Haus in Bremen, starting at 10.00. Participants in the symposium will include the political theorist and philosopher Prof. Dr Rainer Forst and the legal scholar Dr Dana Schmalz.
Registration for the awards ceremony is available via this link: Register here
Registration for the symposium is available via this link: Register here
Contact person for enquiries:
The association’s chair, Professor Waltraud Meints-Stender, will be happy to answer any questions: Waltraud.Meints-Stender(at)hs-niederrhein.de
The association’s website with further information: https://hannah-arendt-verein.de
