For his book, The Ecology of Nations: American Democracy in a Fragile World Order, John M. Owen IV has been awarded the 2025 Grawemeyer Award for World Order. The prestigious award is presented annually to scholars who “have taken on issues of world importance and presented viewpoints that could lead to a more just and peaceful world.”
“Political scientists have tended to analyze democratic longevity and crises in domestic terms,” said University of Louisville Professor of Political Science and University Scholar Charles E. Ziegler, the director of the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. “They generally look at internal economic structure, income levels, and a society’s cultural traits. Owen’s exposition of the role of the international ecosystem marks a major contribution to our understanding of world order.”
Owen, Ambassador Henry J. and Mrs. Marion R. Taylor Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, said he was “surprised, stunned, flattered, and honored” for his selection as a Grawemeyer recipient. “I thank the Institute once again for making the book possible.”
The Ecology of Nations investigates how democracies compete with autocracies to bias international order in their favor—and why democracies are losing. The book is part of the Politics and Culture series published by Yale University Press and co-edited by Prof. James Davison Hunter, Executive Director of the Institute.
Owen will accept his award at a ceremony in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 10.