Lea Ypi Awarded 2026 Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought

Lea Ypi, Ralph Miliband Professor of Politics and Philosophy at LSE Law School, has been awarded The Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought 2026. The prize recognises individuals who contribute to public political thought and action in the tradition of Hannah Arendt.

The international jury described Professor Ypi as an outstanding political thinker of the present day, highlighting philosophical, political and literary work that addresses questions central to democratic thought: freedom, truth, justice, human dignity and the conditions for political action. The jury placed particular emphasis on her ability to “combine political experiences under a totalitarian system with philosophical reflection and historical analysis. From this interplay, she develops an independent form of public political thought in which experience, memory and critical judgment are combined.”

Commenting on the award, Professor Ypi said: “I am honoured to receive a prize named after Hannah Arendt, whose work on Kant has been crucial for my reading of the Enlightenment not as an era of the past but as a political mission still to be realised. At a time when democratic practice is so fragile, her call to take responsibility for the world we share is more urgent than ever.”

Professor Lea Ypi is the author of the Costa Biography Award-shortlisted Free: Coming of Age at the End of History (Penguin, 2021) and Indignity: A Life Reimagined (Penguin, 2025).

Lea Ypi will receive the prize on 10 December 2026 at Bremen City Hall.

Find out more about the Hannah Arendt Prize.