The Jörg-Huffschmid-Prize 2026

In 2026 the Jörg-Huffschmid-Prize will be awarded again to outstanding work in critical political economy at master/diploma/PhD level.

The scope of the prize includes critical political economy research that has been submitted and assessed at a European university in German or English since May 2025. I would encourage members of this community to consider submitting your work if eligible.

📅 Deadline for applications is 1 April 2026.

 

The Jörg-Huffschmid-Prize

The Jörg-Huffschmid Prize was established in memory of an economist whose knowledge and social engagement are particularly sorely missed in the current global situation. In 2023, the prize,  awarded for outstanding work in the field of Critical Political Economy, will be presented for the seventh time. It aims especially to encourage young scholars to pursue critical research in the spirit of this pioneering economist’s work.

Jörg Huffschmid, who died in December 2009 at the age of 69, combined incisive analysis with critique of capitalism and political reason in his work. As one of the founders of the Arbeitsgruppe Alternative Wirtschaftspolitik (Working Group on Alternative Economic Policy) and the EuroMemo Group, and through his involvement in the Scientific Advisory Boards of Attac and the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, his personal, political and academic goal was a socially just society — against the supposed inevitability of mainstream economics. These four organisations have therefore jointly awarded the prize every two years since 2011.

 

✔️ Eligible submissions

In addition to doctoral dissertations, Magister, Master’s, Diplom and Staatsexamen theses may be submitted in the thesis category. The prize money is €1,500 for dissertations and €500 for other theses. Submissions should address topics from the broad field of Political Economy, including in particular:

  • Political economy of green socialism/social-ecological transformation
  • Crisis of the German export model and new “armament Keynesianism”
  • Political economy of socialisation and the new planning debate
  • Concepts of feminist infrastructure socialism and care economy
  • Political economy of digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI)
  • Globalisation or deglobalisation?
  • Financialisation and the regulation of financial markets

We explicitly encourage the submission of interdisciplinary work combining economic approaches with social science, political science or cultural studies perspectives.

 

✔️ Eligibility

Eligible works are those submitted and assessed at a European university in German or English since May 2025. Works by employees of the organisations involved in awarding the prize and members of their advisory boards cannot be considered.

 

✔️ Application

Please submit your complete application exclusively in electronic form by 1 April 2026 to Dr. Mario Candeias, mario.candeias@rosalux.org. Please include the following with your submission:

  • Cover letter
  • Summary of 800 words
  • Complete thesis
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Academic assessment/evaluation of the work

 

✔️ Award ceremony

The award ceremony is scheduled for 21 November 2026 in Berlin, as part of the conference “Green Socialism: On the Political Economy of a Social-Ecological System Change”, taking place 21–22 November 2026 at the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung.

 

✔️ The Jury

Justus Henze, Communia e.V., Hamburg-Berlin

Laura Horn, Roskilde University, formerly EuroMemo

Noah Liebert, Netzwerk Plurale Ökonomik, Hamburg (Coordination)

Prof. Daniel Mertens, Scientific Advisory Board of Attac, University of Osnabrück

PD Dr. Silke Ötsch, SOFI Göttingen

Dr. Thomas Sablowski, Scientific Advisory Board of Attac and LuXemburg editorial board, Frankfurt/M

Christoph Trautvetter, Netzwerk Steuergerechtigkeit, Berlin

Dr. Christa Wichterich, Scientific Advisory Board of Attac and Scientific Advisory Board of Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung

Pernille Zimmermann, Netzwerk Plurale Ökonomik, University of Hamburg (Coordination)

Anne Huffschmid, FU Berlin

 

 

👉 Read HERE the original announcement in German at the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung website.