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Sebastian Ottinger Receives the GACR President’s Award

30 September, 2026

Sebastian Ottinger, Ph.D., received the GACR President’s Award for outstanding results in basic research in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities. The award was presented by Milan Jirsa, President of the Czech Science Foundation (GACR), during a ceremony in Prague on September 29.

The GACR President’s Award has been presented annually since 2003 to researchers whose grant projects, completed in the previous year, achieved exceptional results. Five researchers are recognized each year across the main areas of basic research.

“This year’s award recipients show how strongly Czech science is connected to the international scientific community. Three of them came to the Czech Republic from abroad,” said Professor Milan Jirsa, President of GACR.

“The outputs of all five award-winning projects rank among the best results in basic research in the Czech Republic and confirm that Czech science is a fully-fledged part of the global research landscape,” he added.

Sebastian Ottinger was awarded for his project “The Influence and Origins of National and Local Political Institutions.” His research examined how rulers, political institutions, and individuals can shape societies and their long-term development.

Using historical data from Europe and the United States, the project showed that the capabilities of rulers had a direct impact on the prosperity of states, while parliaments could mitigate some of the negative consequences associated with weaker rulers. The research also investigated how political elites used the media to spread racist propaganda and how French soldiers returning from the American War of Independence contributed to the spread of democratic and revolutionary ideas in France.

“It’s an inherently exciting and interesting job to study these big questions that people have been pondering for so long and that obviously matter to society more broadly, and to study them together with very smart and diverse people from all over the world,” said Sebastian Ottinger.

The project offers new insights into the circumstances under which individuals and institutions can influence social, political, and economic development.

The GACR President’s Award recognizes outstanding results achieved through projects funded by the Czech Science Foundation. The laureates are selected based on recommendations from hundreds of scientists involved in evaluating GACR-funded research.