Margaretha Lupac Foundation

Dr. Walter Rosenkranz, President of the National Council 

Peter Haubner, Second President of the National Council

Doris Bures, Third President of the National Council 

Peter Samt, President of the Federal Council

Mag. Dr. Martin Graf, Member of the National Council

Mag. Wolfgang Gerstl, Member of the National Council

Mag.^a Dr.ⁱⁿ Petra Oberrauner, Member of the National Council

Dominik Oberhofer, Member of the National Council

Dr. Alma Zadić, LL.M., former Member of the National Council

Hermann Brückl, MA, Member of the National Council

MMst. Mag. (FH) Maria Neumann, Member of the National Council

Mag. Heinrich Himmer, Member of the National Council

Mag. Martina von Künsberg Sarre, Member of the National Council

Mag. Agnes Sirkka Prammer, Member of the National Council

Recipients 2022

Birgitt Haller

Birgitt Haller has headed the Institute for Conflict Research at the University of Innsbruck for many years. Through her research as well as her activism, she is considered a trailblazer in the fight against genderbased violence and for the legal regulations for protection against violence. Her work as well as her impact are unique: As an expert of international renown, Haller's work is considered a benchmark in policy implementation as well as scientific research. Working at the intersection of law and political sciences, her work supports and strengthens the long-term development of democracy in Austria.

Initiative "Minderheiten"

The initiative "Minderheiten" was initially founded as a human rights NGO in 1991. Their work, however, quickly evolved towards building and consolidating a comprehensive and inclusive understanding of minorities: as a fundamentally equitable group within society. Working towards equity without discrimination, the initiative focuses on what unites instead of what separates people - a conviction they have shared through the publication of their magazine "Die Stimme" (literally "The Voice") for many years. They reinforce this belief through diverse radio cooperations, for example with fellow Margaretha Lupac-Democracy Award honoree Free Radio Salzkammergut (award recipient of 2016).

As in 2018, the Award 2020 is split between three winners: Gertraud Diendorfer, the Initiative Group Citizens’ Councils Vorarlberg and ZARA.

Initiative Group Citizens' Councils Vorarlberg

At the present time, the Vorarlberg “citizens’ councils” or “civic councils” (or “wisdom councils”, as their original is termed in English) are obviously the most innovative form of direct democracy that is formally established, and they are meanwhile also reflected in Vorarlberg’s state constitution. Practiced regularly since 2006, the procedure is highly inclusive and representative, without focusing on political parties or on party membership. In a discourse process, opinions are formed and detailed proposals are developed. What deserves to be highlighted in particular is the aspect of direct discourse between Vorarlberg’s state bodies and its population as well as the message created by it.

ZARA

ZARA has been active for 20 years with great commitment and success. The themes of its work are important and directly reflect the pulse of the times as well as current social challenges, such as online hate speech. Another important function of ZARA is to offer counselling and information. The majority of its staff are working on an honorary basis. More information can be found at https://www.zara.or.at

Gertraud Diendorfer

The historian Gertraud Diendorfer is looking back on several decades of successful and committed work in the field of civic and democracy education. She was, for instance, co-founder of Vienna’s Democracy Centre and has had a leading role in its scientific and organisational development. She has been working on such important topics as democracy awareness, gender aspects and migration – always at the interface between science and practical application, primarily in schools.

The Democracy Award 2020 honours citizens who are committed to the common goal of strengthening Austria’s democracy and thus are acting in the spirit of Margaretha Lupac.

Photos of the award ceremony

The 2018 Award is split up between three winners: project „100 Jahre Republik – 100 Jahre Leben“ der PH Burgenland in co-operation with the Burgenland provincial education authority, Peregrina counselling centre for migrant women (www.peregrina.at) as well as Viennese Hilfswerk - Neighborhood Centers (nachbarschaftszentren.at).

Photos of the award ceremony

The 2016 Award is split up between three winners. The association Freies Radio Salzkammergut (Free Radio Salzkammergut) has for 19 years been promoting civil society‘s participation by providing it with airtime, and has organized educational measures aimed at the strengthening of tolerance and intercultural respect. Through its manifold activities it has developed into a competence center in matters of civic education and democratic practice. Its work reaches out to 200,000 people of all ages, in particular in Upper Austria, Salzburg and Styria. The organization „Gerechtigkeit für die Opfer der NS-Militärjustiz“ („Justice for the Victims of National Socialist Military Tribunals“ combines broad civil society commitment with parliamentary work and with the role of mediators in media and cultural policy contexts. Through commemorative events and the presentation of research results, public awareness was raised for this topic, and political support was gained for this cause. The third award winner is the Ludwig Boltzmann Institut für Menschenrechte, Austria’s largest independent institute of human rights, which has been active for 20 years at the national, European and international levels. The institute provides scientific foundations for the further development and strengthening of democracy. Human rights education and civic education for young people are the aim of the „Zentrum polis – Politik lernen in der Schule“ („Center polis – learning politics at school“), which has for 10 years been accommodated at the Institute.

Photos of the award ceremony

The Democracy Award 2014 goes to the participation projects of the 1999-founded association „Jugendbeteiligung Dornbirn“ („Youth Participation Dornbirn“), which provides young citizens with opportunities for participation in different contexts and formats, e.g. in building or health projects or in political informational events. The second award winner is the „Forum Informationsfreiheit“ („Freedom of Information Forum“), an association which supports the cause of strengthening individuals‘ rights to obtain information from public administration authorities and which also demands the passage of a Freedom of Information Act.

Photos of the award ceremony

The Democracy Award of the Margaretha Lupac foundation this year was awarded for the fifth time. The winners are Barbara Helige, first female president of the Vereinigung österreichischer RichterInnen (Austrian Association of Judges), the youth platform and youth initiative "Zukunftsforum Windhaag" ("Future Forum Windhaag"), which aims to encourage young people to actively deal with global social developments, and to the Mauthausen Komitee Österreich (Mauthausen Committee Austria).

Barbara Helige was the first woman to chair the Austrian Association of Judges. In this office she always advocated the strengthening of democracy, defended the rule of law as a pillar of democratic order and highlighted the separation of powers. Besides the external independence she appealed to the internal independence and impartiality of judges. She contributed to the development of ethical principles of judicial work which are subsumed in the "Welser Erklärung" (Declaration of Wels). In civil society she committed herself – to point out just a few initiatives – as president of the Österreichische Liga für Menschenrechte (Austrain League for Human Rights), as chairwoman of the Wilhelminenbergkommission to resolve incidents in the former children’s home, and in the council for ethics in public relations.

Founded in 2008, the youth platform and youth initiative "Zukunftsforum Windhaag" gives young people the chance to actively deal with social developments and a future worth living in a local and global context. Therefore government parties’ representatives from provincial, federal and European politics are invited to join the political discourse. It is about the political dialogue, dealing with the tools of democracy, codetermination, grass-root democratic decisions; the training in tolerance, communication, cooperation, creative and intermediation techniques and not least the empowerment of and for young people to critically commit themselves. The goal of the initiative is to become an acknowledged partner for questions concerning the future and to become a forum of discussion and of shaping the future for the young. Projects include i.e. the youth symposium "StadtLand – Tanz der Polaritäten" (CityCountryside – Dance of Polarities) or events concerning "Energie – Klima – Kostengerechtigkeit" (Energy – Climate – Equity of Costs) and "Jugend – Macht – Demokratie" (Youth – Power – Democracy). 

The Mauthausen Komitee Österreich’s work focuses on the remembrance of the victims of National Socialism, especially of the inmates of concentration camp Mauthausen and its satellite camps. Emerged in 1997 from the "Lagergemeinschaft Mauthausen" (Camp Alliance Mauthausen), it defines itself as non-partisan and interdenominational and advocates a free and democratic society as well as the protection of human rights for everybody. The dedicated anti-fascist and anti-racist work with young people is a focus of the organisation’s manifold activities. Mauthausen Guides accompany young people on 22 locations of former satellite camps to utilise these memorial sites as "learning sites". Offers to strengthen moral courage, initiatives encouraging to discuss and learn about racism, field excursions and much more could reach about 30.000 young people in the past three years.

Photos of the award ceremony

This year, the Democracy Award has been given to women and women’s institutions: the winners are Gitta Martl, long-time Secretary-General of the Ketani Society, Director Heidi Schrodt and “her” Rahlgasse grammar school in Vienna, and the association "Frauen aus allen Ländern" (“Women of all Countries”), a cultural, educational and advisory initiative in Innsbruck, Tyrol. 74 individuals and institutions competed for the award, which was presented to the winners by National Council President Barbara Prammer in the course of a ceremony that took place in the Parliament Building.

Gitta Martl was moved by her own personal experience in 1998 to found, with others, the Ketani Society in Linz for the benefit of Sinti and Roma. She published the tragic story of her life in her book "Uns hat es nicht geben sollen: Rosa Winter, Gitta und Nicole Martl. Drei Generationen Sinti-Frauen erzählen" (“We ought not to have existed. Rosa Winter, Gitta and Nicole Martl. Sinti women of three generations tell their stories”). She has started, with a great deal of personal commitment, a number of initiatives for the benefit of minorities in the context of democracy, always focusing on ways to bring people of different backgrounds together rather than polarise them.

Director Heidi Schrodt and the secondary grammar school Rahlgasse excel owing to their special achievements in the field of gender democracy. The school sees itself as a ”Gender Competence School“, an institution productive of modern relations between the genders. Its syllabus focuses on gender issues, social competence and the environment. Many of its projects, such as "(Un)Doing Gender", gender and non-discrimination monitors, “Girl/Boy Days“ and others, consciously continue the tradition of the first Austrian grammar school for girls (founded in 1892). Director Schrodt has played an important role in this process, and her own biography explains her interest in and commitment to gender issues. Between 1993 and 1995 she was a member of the Inter-ministerial Working Group on Specific Women’s Issues in the Field of Education. Since the autumn of 2000 she has cooperated with two scholars, Edit Schlaffer and Cheryl Benard, on the subject of “gender-sensitive coeducation”. She has been a lecturer in Austrian universities, has delivered numerous speeches both in Austria and abroad, and is the founder of the non-partisan initiative "BildungGrenzenlos" (”Education without Borders“).

The association "Frauen aus allen Ländern" was founded in 2001 as an initiative dedicated to cultural, educational and advisory work for women and girls with a migration background. The association aims at facilitating integration by offering assistance and advice tailored to the needs of specific groups and providing a sheltered environment for migrant women and girls to meet. The project dedicates itself to a special form of minority protection in that it gives practical assistance to the women concerned by offering educational courses and organising learning, consultation and “story-telling” cafés. The stress is on participation – by showing girls and women ways to enhance their decision-making competence and lifting them out of their isolation. Networking and cooperation with other institutions and organisations – an aspect of particular importance to their clientele – emphasise the significance of long-term social perspectives and inter-cultural dialogue. Noteworthy facts characteristic of the initiative are the private, civil-society character of its activities carried forward by honorary members in a non-profit organisation.

The Democracy Award 2008 of the Margaretha Lupac Foundation for Parliamentariansm and Democracy, the third one in the history of the prize, was accorded to the "Europaschule" all-day primary school in the 20th district of Vienna and to the Muslim Austrian Initiative. The winners were selected by a jury from among 70 candidates.

The "Europaschule" is an extraordinarily well-structured primary school with a total of 16 forms (seven at Level I, nine at Level II) which emphasises social learning and inter-religious dialogue and practices bilingual instruction, which is of particular importance in the context of migration. Such projects as the establishment of a school council, social learning and peace education, an intercultural café and language courses for mothers with a migration background aim at raising democratic awareness. Partnerships with schools in Bratislava, Istanbul and Paris support these enduring local long-term projects.

"Do not talk about Muslims, talk with them“ is the motto of the Muslim Austrian Initiative, which was founded in 1999. The Initiative strives in particular to raise people’s awareness that one can be a Muslim and at the same time part of Austrian society. Especially noteworthy are the Initiative’s networking activities in civil society, specifically women’s projects, projects promoting integration through participation, and activities stimulating interest in participating in political and public life.

Photos of the award ceremony

The Democracy Award 2006 of the Margaretha Lupac Foundation for Parliamentarianism and Democracy went to Univ.-Prof. Dr. Joseph Marko. Marko, Professor at the Institute of Austrian, European and Comparative Law of Karl Franzens-Universität Graz and Director of the Institute for Minority Rights of the European Academy Bolzano, received the prize of EUR 15,000 in particular for his participation in the development of democracy and the rule of law in Bosnia-Herzegovina and his personal commitment to Southeastern Europe. From 1997 to 2001 he was one of three international judges of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina, where he played an important part as a multilingual mediator between the country’s three ethnic groups and the other external judges of the Court.

The decision to award the 2006 prize to Joseph Marko was unanimously taken by a jury chaired by ORF Director General Monika Lindner. Marko, who was selected from among 69 candidates, received the award on the occasion of a ceremony in held in the Parliament Building in Vienna.

Photos of the award ceremony

A jury chaired by Dr. Monika Lindner, then Director General of the ORF, and composed of Dr. Brigitte Bierlein, Vice-President of the Constitutional Court, Univ. Prof. Dr. Sonja Puntscher-Riekmann, Vice-Chancellor of Salzburg University and member of the Austrian Academy of Science, Univ. Prof. DDr. Oliver Rathkolb, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for European History and Public Spheres and scientific director of the Democracy Centre Vienna, and Univ. Prof. emeritus DDr. Manfried Welan, Institute for Sustainable Economic Development of the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, examined numerous entries.

Criteria for the award were that the candidates had largely contributed, by transporting democratic values including minority rights and gender equality, to the promotion of a more tolerant and autonomous attitude in society as a basis for the peaceful coexistence of people and institutions in everyday life in a spirit of partnership.

The  International Business College Hetzendorf (International Business College Hetzendorf) was announced as the winner of the 2004 Democracy Award.

As the Headmaster of the school, HR Mag. Dieter Wlcek stated during the award ceremony that the award accorded to his institution by the Board of Trustees of the Foundation and the jury constitutes a most valuable encouragement to continue to pursue projects for the promotion of democracy, parliamentarianism, the arts, and future studies.

He also pointed out that the award afforded his institution an opportunity to demonstrate to the public the outstanding performance of present-day schools, their teaching staff and students, and to make the outside world understand that teaching was no longer a half-day job. He felt that the autonomy granted to schools was an important source of motivation to assume responsibility, strive for joint decisions, and keep a watchful eye on quality. The speaker closed his speech by quoting a Chinese proverb: ”Tell me, I will forget; show me, I may remember, but involve me, I will understand.

Photos of the award ceremony

Inauguration of the "Democracy Award Hall" at the International Business College Hetzendorf on 27 May, 2010

Emanuel Lerch 

Emanuel Lerch is honoured for his doctoral thesis ‘Democracy and Autonomy – An Analysis along the ECHR’. In his text, he brilliantly demonstrates that adequate protection of autonomy (privacy) is not only important for ensuring the development of individuals, but also promotes the democratic organisation of societies. Securing individuals’ freedom to live their own life according to their own rules that are embedded in a general legal framework, also provides the basis for social diversity. Self-determination enlivens democratic discourse – by revealing the scientific foundation of this complex relationship the author makes an important contribution to democratic development.

Peter Slominski

Peter Slominski is honoured for his scientific oeuvre to date. For three decades, he has dedicated his work to a comprehensive exploration of the topics of fundamental rights, democracy and executive governance at the supranational level. He provides a wide range of insights pertaining to these general topics, such as analyses of European migration policy and contributions to questions of national parliaments' rights of participation in EU affairs. In his approach, scholar Peter Slominski connects socio-political issues, practical and legal analysis, and the theoretical perspective. The award therefore honours not only his academic work in the narrower sense, but also his publications in the field of civic education.

The Margaretha Lupac Foundation for Parliamentarism and Democracy Science Award honours a scientist’s life achievements, a scientific publication, or a completed and evaluated doctoral thesis which deals with the potentials and strengths but also the challenges and weaknesses of parliamentary democracy and its institutions in Austria.

The Science Award 2021 of the Austrian Parliament’s Margaretha Lupac Foundation was split evenly between three winners: the political scientists Ulrich Brand and Johannes Pollak as well as to the jurist Thomas Olechowski, each for their overall scientific work to date. The Foundation’s Board of Trustees unanimously followed the proposals made by the Jury.

Once again, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka, emphasised the diversity and quality of the submitted works. The three award-winning scientists all focus on the major topic of the necessary constant work on and for democracy from different scientific perspectives with a critical and vigilant eye.

Globalisation and Sustainability
Ulrich Brand is a professor at the Institute for Political Science at the University of Vienna. He has made important contributions to the limits of existing democracy. The focus is on the question of how democratic parliamentary structures and processes could be preserved, protected and strengthened also in Austria despite globalisation and ecological crisis. The fact that and how democratic institutions must be opened up thematically and in terms of participation in order to create a sustainable model of prosperity is the focus of his research.

Democracy and European Integration
Johannes Pollak is Rector of Webster Vienna Private University and Chairman of the Board for European Politics in Berlin. He has been working on the topics of democracy and European integration research for three decades now. His contributions are important contributions to political theory, and he is very insightful in combining political theory with practice. In 2019, for example, in an article published with Katrin Auel, he comes to the sobering conclusion that the control function of parliaments is weak, although attempts are being made to compensate for this weakness with increased public communication.

The influence of Hans Kelsen
Thomas Olechowski is Professor of Legal History at the University of Vienna, a full member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Managing Director of the Hans Kelsen Institute. In 2020, he was able to complete and publish the more than ten-year project of a historically accurate and source-critical biography of Hans Kelsen. This epoch-making work also deals with the themes of democracy and parliamentarism in Kelsen's works, who is considered the "architect" of the Austrian Federal Constitution .

The 2021 Science Award thus once again goes to scholars who, coming from different disciplines, deal in depth with important aspects of democracy and parliamentarism and thus point out perspectives for action. This applies in particular to the regional as well as the global level - linked with a critical as well as forward-looking view of the levels of participation and representation as well as parliamentary and civil society actors. Last but not least, Thomas Olechowski's work stands for a historical perspective that seeks to ground and enrich contemporary action.

The Margaretha Lupac Foundation for Parliamentarism and Democracy Science Award honours a scientist’s life achievements, a scientific publication, or a completed and evaluated doctoral thesis which deals with the potentials and strengths but also the challenges and weaknesses of parliamentary democracy and its institutions in Austria.

The Science Award 2019 of the Austrian Parliament’s Margaretha Lupac Foundation was split evenly between three winners: the historian Wolfgang Häusler, the jurist Ulrich Wagrandl and the political scientists Helga Amesberger and Brigitte Halbmayr, who made a joint submission. The Award thus honours two outstanding scientific publications as well as the scientific oeuvre of two researchers. The Foundation’s Board of Trustees unanimously followed the proposals made by the Jury.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka, again showed himself impressed by the wide spectrum and high quality of the works submitted. All three submissions honoured by the Award emphasize – from the different perspectives of legal science, history and historical social research – the necessity of continuous efforts for the promotion of democracy.

“Ideas cannot be shot”
In 2017, Wolfgang Häusler published the book “Ideen können nicht erschossen werden. Revolution und Demokratie in Österreich 1789 – 1848 – 1918“ („Ideas cannot be shot. Revolution and Democracy in Austria 1789 – 1848 – 1918“). The Jury and the Board of Trustees found it to be a unique and fascinating study on the development of modern Austrian democracy, which seeks to identify the roots of the ideas and values of Enlightenment, emancipation and democracy. Häusler’s book is a model for transforming universality into reality, and it links remembrance, soul-searching, and a vivid awareness of contemporary problems back in history. It is both a cultural history of democracy and a book for reference.

“Militant Democracy in Austria”
In 2019, Ulrich Wagrandl published his doctoral thesis on the topic “Wehrhafte Demokratie in Österreich” (“Militant Democracy in Austria”). Is Austria’s democracy in a position to defend itself against its opponents? Are there any legal devices to protect the democratic process against those who seek to abuse it for antidemocratic purposes? These are questions about whether or not Austria’s democracy can be characterised as militant. The topic as defined by the author is an excellent and intriguing one and leaves abundant room for the reader’s further thinking and reflection. The Jury and the Board of Trustees considered this work an excellent mixture of theory, historical reflection, and discussion of questions concerning our time. By offering civic education, education for democracy, and education against prejudice the Austrian Parliament itself actively contributes to ensuring a resilient democracy.

Historical social research
Helga Amesberger and Brigitte Halbmayr jointly received the Award for their scientific work produced until this day in the area of historical social research. Both scientists have established since the late 1990s at the Department of Conflict Research a research focus under the same title, devoted to two central topics: National-socialist persecution of women, and Oral history and politics of remembrance. Apart from gender, they are focusing on further social categories such as “race”, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion, which had a crucial influence on the probability of suffering persecution and on the chance of survival. Through the form of processing their source material and making it more widely accessible, the two researchers essentially contribute to the democratization of knowledge.

The Science Award 2019 thus again honours works which, in their respective areas – history, law and social science –, are dealing in an outstanding manner, and with a wide variety of methods, with aspects of democracy development and parliamentarianism. They are representative of the wide spectrum of democracy research in Austria. All three submissions are dealing with very fundamental and socially important issues of Austria’s democratic system and its challenges.

Photos of the award ceremony

The Margaretha Lupac Foundation for Parliamentarism and Democracy Science Award honours a scientist’s life achievements, a scientific publication, or a completed and evaluated doctoral thesis which deals with the potentials and strengths but also the challenges and weaknesses of parliamentary democracy and its institutions in Austria. On November 6, 2017 the Science Award was presented to the winners by the members of the Jury in the course of a festive ceremony in the Austrian Parliament. The award winners are political scientists Birgit Sauer (University of Vienna) and Reinhard Heinisch (University of Salzburg) and jurist and political scientist Klaus Poier (University of Graz). The Jury, as its chairman Manfried Welan explained, based its choice on what it found to be an excellent combination – achieved by each of the three scholars – of scientific theory and journalistic practice. The Award thus honoured the manifold activities they are undertaking to bring their scientific findings to the knowledge not only of the scientific community but also of the public at large. The variety of their research topics also illustrates very well the broad spectrum of political science in Austria.

Sauer: Adequate representation is a challenge faced by parliamentary systems

In his laudatory speech for award winner Birgit Sauer, Manfried Welan underlined that by adopting a gender perspective on political science she had embarked on an important field of study. Sauer, born in Brackenheim, Germany, holds a professorship of political science, with a governance and gender focus, at the University of Vienna. Before she started her scientific work in Vienna in 1996, she was a researcher at the Universities of Berlin and Fribourgh and held visiting professorships at the Universities of Mainz, Klagenfurt, Seoul and Boca Raton. In her speech in which she thanked for the award Sauer explained that one special focus of her current research was on the issue of political representation, in particular of women and of female migrants. She considers both these aspects as a major challenge to the representative function of parliamentary systems and to democracy. What she considers necessary to master this challenge is an inclusive approach to politics and the contributions made by a lively civil society.

Heinisch: Call for more direct democracy may support the populists‘ cause

Jury member Sieglinde Rosenberger (University of Vienna) referred in her laudatory speech to Reinhard Heinisch’s many years of experience abroad. Born in Villach, political scientist Heinisch worked in the United states from 1986 to 2009. Since 2009 he has been Professor of Austrian Politics in a Comparative European Perspective and Head of the Department of Political Science at Salzburg University. In his work, he is focusing on comparative research on populism and on issues of direct democracy and the party system. He is also a very active member of civil society, being in charge of a development project in Bolivia. In addition, Heinisch is one of the initiators of the International Summer University Carinthia, of which he is the academic director. Reinhard Heinisch recalled that the phenomenon of populism, which he first faced in the late 1990s, was then considered a temporary marginal phenomenon in the political landscape of some few states and was not deemed worthy of scientific attention. Meanwhile, however, populism has become an international phenomenon and has made its way into our society. What is of particular interest to Heinisch in this context is the call for more direct democracy. He called to mind that enhancing direct democracy would involve the risk of, by doing so, simultaneously strengthening its „ugly twin brother“, which is populist democracy.

Poier: Democracy research should show the way to creative solutions

Vice President of the Austrian Constitutional Court Brigitte Bierlein in her speech presented the work of jurist and political scientist Klaus Poier. Poier, born in Graz, is assistant professor at the Department of Public Law, Administrative Theory and Political Science of the University of Graz. What Bierlein highlighted in her speech as a particular merit of Poier are his articles on electoral systems and electoral law, to which he has contributed reform proposals that are suitable for practical implementation. Poier was a member of the Austrian Convention held from 2003 to 2005 and a member of the parliamentary study commission dealing with the strengthening of democracy in Austria in 2015. As one of his further functions he is heading the Dr.-Karl-Kummer-Institute for Social Reform and Social and Economic Policy in Styria. Klaus Poier pointed out that an interdisciplinary approach was vital for democracy research, which also needed a strong link to political practice. One of the functions that science should have, says Poier, is to propose creative and innovative solutions.

Photos of the award ceremony

On 30 November 2015, the Margaretha Lupac Foundation’s Science Award 2015 was presented to its winners – political scientists Karin Liebhart and Tamara Ehs and communication scientist Christina Ortner – in the course of a festive ceremony in the Parliament building.

While Liebhart and Ehs were granted the award in recognition of their overall scientific achievements, Christina Ortner was honoured for her recent publication „Wie junge Erwachsene die EU sehen und was die Medien dazu beitragen“ („Young adults‘ views of the EU, and what the media contribute to it“). The three scientists represent the diversity of scientific work in Austria and illustrate the interdisciplinarity and topical variety of contemporary social discourse.

Karin Liebhart: Research on democritization and transformation
The political scientist Karin Liebhart, holder of a venia legendi, conducts interdisciplinary research on fundamental questions of Austrian democracy in a European and comparative perspective. She has been dealing with this topic not only in her (mostly third-party funded) research, but also in her international teaching activities.

Tamara Ehs: Combining law studies with political science
Tamara Ehs is pursuing a critical approach of political science, focusing on legal and historical aspects, which permits to display the interplay and interdependency between society, the organization of state powers, and politics. In addition to her research and publishing activities, Tamara Ehs – like Karin Liebhart – is teaching at universities. She also has shown great engagement in civil society.

Christina Ortner: Young adults, the EU and the media
In her award-winning publication, Christina Ortner portrays the views of the EU held by the 20- to 30-year-old, and how they develop. She points out in particular the important function of the media as sources of information, and the relevance of civic education. The latter should be intensified at all levels of education, she says, in order to increase the number of critical but enthusiastic Europeans.

Photos of the award ceremony

The winners of the Margaretha Lupac Foundation’s science award 2013 are known for their scientific analysis of the challenges and weaknesses but also the chances and assets of parliamentary democracy and its institutions in Austria. The Margaretha Lupac Foundation’s science award will be presented on the 11th of October 2013 during a ceremony in the parliament building.

Wolfgang Mantl: Law and Politics, History and Culture
Wolfgang Mantl, a scientist and member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, has been earning a reputation since the 1960s with research on different aspects of Austrian politics. His magnum opus – "Politik in Österreich. Die Zweite Republik. Bestand und Wandel" ("Politics in Austria. The Second Republic. Continuance and Change") – is not only accessible for the scientific community but due to the language used and the way of presentation also of interest to the general public. His works are characterised by an appropriate proportion of "Verfügungs-" and "Orientierungswissen" (instrumental and reflective knowledge) presented in reasonable arguments and a comparative view. Mantl treats law and politics, history and culture scientifically from an interdisciplinary approach; he therefore is considered one of the fathers of "Juristenpolitologie" (an approach based on the interdependence of law and political science).

Sieglinde Rosenberger: Clarity and Thoughtfulness
Since more than 20 years Rosenberger’s work is characterised by a large variety of topics and being up to date . She engages in controversial social issues and dedicates herself primarily to questions of democracy and equality. Gender aspects, possibilities of participation, elections and electoral law are also emphasised in her scientifical work. Rosenberger manages to combine clarity and thoughtfulness with great scientific accuracy. In doing so her focus lies on other countries and systems as well. That Rosenberger as has been co-authoring and co-editing many works with other scientists shows her high degree of integration in the scientific community.

Robert Luft: Meaning of the Austro-Hungarian-Monarchy’s Parliament for its Successor States
Robert Luft’s awarded publication already impresses by its extent (163 biographies in two volumes on more than 1.200 pages) – but what makes it essential is that the historian closes a gap and illustrates the significance of the Viennese parliament of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy for the political and parliamentary development of the successor states. The extensive account deals amongst other things also with electoral law and according to the jury is going to be a "classic" in this field of research. Like in 2011, this year’s award is again conferred for a work that brings into focus a facet of Austrian parliamentarism during the monarchy.

Following a unanimous decision by the jury and the board of trustees, the winners of the Margaretha Lupac Foundation’s science award 2011 are Univ. Prof. DDr. Christiane Spiel and the project platform "Jewish Representation and anti-Semitism in the Austrian Parliament, 1861-1938" under the direction of Univ. Prof. Dr. Eva Kreisky together with the young scientists Mag. Matthias Falter and Mag. Saskia Stachowitsch.

Christiane Spiel is well known not only in the scientific community. She and her team are working intensely on topics of the prevention of violence in schools and kindergartens, the integration of migrants in multicultural schools and the promotion of gender equality. She established the special field of educational psychology as a scientific discipline and developed a structural model which centred on the educational career and lifelong learning. The second focus of her research is in the field of evaluation and quality management. In this context, Spiel conducted research assigned by the Austrian Rectors’ Conference (Rektorenkonferenz) dealing with university admission, selection methods and the recognition of non-formal and informal learning experiences.

The Project "White Feather – joining forces for fairness and against violence" ("Weiße Feder – gemeinsam für Fairness und gegen Gewalt"), which will be implemented by 2013, has to be highlighted. Christiane Spiel developed the general strategy of preventing violence in kindergartens and schools based on the relevant literature and in cooperation with experts of the ministry for education. On this basis meanwhile a broad offer has been realised – compare weissefeder.at. She is the author of numerous publications.

Eva Kreisky together with the young scientists Matthias Falter and Saskia Stachowitsch since 2007 conducted several research projects on the relationship of parliamentarism, the development of democracy and Jewish representation and participation in Austria. Therefore one of the research’s topics also was the transformation of anti-Semitism as a political strategy in the parliamentarian discourse and its significance as an anti-parliamentarian ideology. The project platform "Jewish Representation and anti-Semitism in the Austrian Parliament, 1861-1938" is looked upon as a pioneering work by the jury under chairmanship of em. Univ. Prof. Dr. Manfried Welan, because it for the first time offers an intense debate about the topic of Jewish members of parliament and their work.

The data collected about the members of parliament can be found on the website of the Austrian Parliament ("Wer ist wer" – "ParlamentarierInnen seit 1918"). The information is only available in German. The whole project is a work in progress, new findings are continually added and further projects on anti-Semitism and the development of parliamentarism past 1945 are planned.

Eva Kreisky at the time is vice-dean of the faculties of social sciences at the University of Vienna and member of the university council of the University of Innsbruck. Her research focuses on political theory, the history of political thought, theories on state and institutions, parliamentarism and democracy, the politics of gender relations, Jewish political history and anti-Semitism in Austria. She is the author of numerous publications.

Matthias Falter and Saskia Stachowitsch belong to scientific staff at the department of political science at the University of Vienna.

Photos of the award ceremony

The subject of the 2009 competition for the Science Award of the Margaretha Lupac Foundation was “Challenges and Development Prospects of Parliamentary Democracy in Austria“. The winners of the 2009 prize chosen by the jury chaired by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Manfried Welan were University Professor emeritus Dr. DDr.h.c. Gerald Stourzh and MMag. DDr. Hubert Sickinger. The award ceremony took place in the Austrian Parliament on 18 January 2010.

The award of the 2009 prize to Gerald Stourzh honours the life achievements of a renowned historian. A university teacher for many years, Stourzh has for more than 50 years devoted his work to the subjects of democracy, dictatorship, human and civic rights and the constitution. His extraordinary merit lies in his ability to raise awareness that democracy, the rule of law and the respect of human and civil rights are historic achievements. Numerous publications, including his writings on the Austrian State Treaty as well as on Benjamin Franklin rank among the standard works on these subjects. Stourzh, born in 1929, studied history and journalism in Vienna and then went to the University of Chicago, where he worked until 1958, ultimately as Assistant Professor. Subsequently, he became Secretary General of Österreichische Gesellschaft für Außenpolitik. In 1962 completed his studies at the Vienna Diplomatic Academy and qualified for a professorship of Modern History at the University of Vienna. He was Full Professor at the Free University of Berlin and, from 1969, at the University of Vienna. Among many other honours he was awarded the Humanities Prize of the City of Vienna in 2004.

Hubert Sickinger owes his reputation first and foremost to his research in the field of party funding. His book “Politikfinanzierung in Österreich” (“The Financing of Politics in Austria“), published in July 2009, discusses the challenges that face parliamentary democracy and its development prospects in the context of party financing. Less known are his research activities in the field of politics in the administrative districts of Vienna. Sickinger, born at Braunau am Inn in 1965, studied law and political science in Innsbruck. He joined the Institute of Conflict Research as a research associate in 1992 and has been associate lecturer in political science at the University of Vienna since 2001. He is a member of the Austrian Political Science Association and of college of publishers of the Austrian Journal of Political Science.

Photos of the award ceremony

In 2007, the Margaretha Lupac Foundation called for submissions for the Foundation's second Science Award. The topic was “Developments in Austria’s Political System in the context of the European Dimension“.

From among the many submissions received the jury chaired by Univ.-Prof. DDr. Manfried Welan proposed two publications for the award. The first one was “Sozialstaat Österreich zwischen Kontinuität und Umbau. Eine Bilanz der ÖVP/FPÖ/BZÖ-Koalition“ (“Austria, the Welfare State between Continuity and Reform. Taking stock of the ÖVP/FPÖ/BZÖ Coalition“) by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Emmerich Tálos and Univ.-Prof. Dr. Herbert Obinger. Their book analyses the political change brought about in 2000. The authors’ principal finding was that both in terms of government programmes and at the level of political decision-making as well as the implementation of concrete measures the change in political power led to a departure from the political decision-making patterns typical of the post-war era. The authors did not confine themselves to empirical documentation and reconstruction but also explained the phenomenon on theoretical grounds.

The second award went to the doctoral thesis of Mag. Dr. Astrid Dietrich, “Medien und EU. Mediale Aufmerksamkeit für die politische Europäische Union im intermedialen Vergleich mit besonderer Berücksichtigung des Qualitäts- und Boulevardaspekts“ (“The Media and the EU. Media coverage of the political aspects of the European Union. A comparative study of different media, in particular the quality press and tabloids“). The author’s initial assumption is that the increasing Europeanisation that has taken place in the political and economic arenas has not been matched by any comparable Europeanisation of the political public. The thesis seeks answers to the following questions: Do the processes of Europeanisation attract the attention of Austrian media, and to what extent? What do the different media contribute to these processes and, in particular, how do the quality papers and tabloids compare in this respect? The Foundation’s Board of Trustees chaired by National Council President Mag. Barbara Prammer unanimously agreed with the jury’s choice.

Photos of the award ceremony

The international competition on the subject of “History and Development of Parliamentarianism in Austria“ addressed itself to scholars, authors of doctoral theses and organisations or collaborating groups that had authored a scientific publication or completed an approved doctoral thesis on the subject of the competition, particularly in such disciplines as political science, law, history, journalism and media as well as philosophy. A total of 27 such papers were submitted by authors from Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the USA. Their authors represented the following disciplines: History, contemporary history, political science, constitutional law, German studies and information management.

The jury selected two submissions. These were the publication “Die österreichischen Abgeordneten. Individuelle Präferenzen und politisches Verhalten.“ (Austrian Members of Parliament. Individual Preferences and Political Attitudes), WUV Universitätsverlag, Vienna 2001, by Univ. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang C. Müller, Mag. Marcelo Jenny, Dr. Barbara Steininger, Dr. Martin Dolezal, Dr. Wilfried Philipp und Mag. Sabine Preisl-Westphal, and the doctoral thesis ”Die politische Partei im Verfassungsrecht – Parteiendemokratie, Parteienbegriffe und Parteienfreiheit“ (The political party as a subject of constitutional law – party democracy, party concepts and party freedom), Vienna 2002, by Univ. Ass. Dr. Patricia Heindl.

The study “Die österreichischen Abgeordneten“ deals in particular with

• the activities of Members in their constituencies (time spent on consultations, contacts, activities…),
• the role of parliamentary parties in the work of Members (to what extent do the political preferences of the Members of one and the same party agree and what differences are there between the different parties; how do Members see their own political and parliamentary parties, where do they seek guidance for their decisions, what decision-making patterns prevail in the parliamentary parties and in what way are decisions usually arrived at; and lastly, how much coherence does there actually prevail within the parliamentary groups,
• the work of Members in Parliament (specialisation, use of parliamentary instruments, concentration on different phases of the parliamentary process etc.),
• Members and public relations,
• connections between their activities as MPs on the one hand and as party members and members of associations outside Parliament on the other,
• changes in focal points and activity profiles in the course of their careers as MPs,
• the effects of European integration on the work of MPs,
• the work of Members of the Federal Council.

The doctoral thesis “Die politische Partei im Verfassungsrecht“ by Patricia Heindl deals extensively with the law governing political parties in Austria. The author explores the position of political parties in constitutional law, and seeks to discover inconsistencies and gaps in party law and to define the scope of action left by constitutional law for possible changes.

The thesis consists of three parts, the first of which deals with party democracy and its relation to the ”free mandate“ principle; the second part analyses the three forms of party – political party, campaigning party and parliamentary party –, the way they are separate and distinct from one another and the relations between them; and the third part is dedicated to the subject of party freedom – the fundamental rights par excellence of a political party.

Her central finding: Kelsen noted already in the preface to his work “Vom Wesen und Wert der Demokratie“ (On the Nature and Value of Democracy) that “democracy today [becomes] a problem when faced with party dictatorship – from the left and the right –, just as it did in the past in its relation with a monarchical autocracy“. This finding is as true today as ever. It is all the more important, it would appear, to instil new life into the precepts of party law and adjust it to the realities of the political world of today. A thoughtful re-adaptation of legal rules would be more in accordance with the actual importance of parties than the rudimentary provisions of current party law.

Like parliamentary law, party law is “law in one’s own cause” - which means that the Members of Parliament adopt provisions that govern, first and foremost, their own activities, or in other words, they lay down the rules of their own game. Seen from this angle, the fact that it is exactly the parties themselves that act in a relatively unregulated area has negative effects on the trust of the people in the legislative power. It would therefore be all the more important to devise and implement meaningful legal rules that would settle the matter in a satisfactory way.

Photos of the award ceremony