The Hugo Raab Award

The Hugo Raab Award is presented annually to promote scientific quality at the Swedish Defence University and is awarded to researchers, teachers or students at the Swedish Defence University who have produced one or more scientific works of exceptional quality in the last three years.

Hugo Raab is considered to have laid the foundations for academic military education. He was a Swedish baron and senior officer who lived between 1831 and 1881. During his military career, Raab contributed greatly to the modernization of the army's organization and officer training. In November 1876, he submitted his "Submissive proposal for the establishment of a War College in Stockholm" in which he argued for an academic foundation of the officer education.

External evaluators

The Hugo Raab Award was established to promote scientific excellence at the Swedish Defence University. The recipient of the award must be a researcher, teacher or student at the Swedish Defence University who has produced one or more scientific works of outstanding quality in the last three years. The award is 25 000 SEK. The recipient is selected by external evaluators.

The 2026 recipient of the Hugo Raab Award: Stefan Borg

Departmet of Political Science

Stefan Borg’s research focuses on US foreign, security and defence policy. He receives the award for his book The Return of the Common Good: The Postliberal Project Left and Right, published by Routledge in 2026.

Prize citation

The book’s principal scholarly contribution lies in its systematic reconstruction of postliberalism as a coherent body of ideas. Borg succeeds in bringing together discussions from political theory, theology, international relations and gender studies in a clear and conceptually illuminating way, collectively demonstrating the relevance of postliberalism and its considerable influence on developments in society more broadly.
The book is, in several respects, a remarkable achievement and makes a significant contribution to the study of contemporary political theory and the history of ideas through its analytical rigour, comprehensive review of the literature and ability to provide structure to an emerging field of research.