Research Fellow Joanna Kusiak has been awarded the biennial Nine Dots Prize for original thinking in response to contemporary societal issues. Joanna's essay on the designated question of 'Why has the rule of law become so fragile?' - submitted alongside the proposal for a book - was selected out of some 800 entries to the competition, funded by the Kadas Foundation. Her book, provisionally entitled Radiaclly Legal, will be published in English by Cambridge University Press, as well as in German and Polish.
On receiving the award, Joanna commented:
The rule of law promises that all people are free and equal, yet too often it fails to deliver on its promise, getting entangled by power. My book, provisionally titled Radically Legal, showcases how social movements in Berlin and Warsaw work with the law to renew its emancipatory potential. My proposal was the work of love, and I feel elevated by winning the Nine Dots Prize. I am a scholar-activist, which means that I only engage with the topics that I believe are socially important.
Mandy Hill, Managing Director of Academic Publishing at Cambridge University Press said: “
Dr Joanna Kusiak’s insightful, stimulating work on the rule of law is a worthy and timely winner. Her work epitomises Cambridge University Press’ values: enabling inspirational and contested ideas and voices to reach a wider audience. We are excited to support Dr Kusiak to convert her ideas into book form.
About the Nine Dots Prize
The Nine Dots Prize is sponsored by the Kadas Prize Foundation with support from CRASSH at the University of Cambridge, and Cambridge University Press.
About the Kadas Prize Foundation
The Kadas Prize Foundation was established to fund research into significant but neglected questions relevant to today’s world. Its main charitable activity is as a prize-awarding body, enabling Prize winners to further their work in the arts, humanities, sciences, and the social sciences to the benefit of the public.
