TaipeiJune 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The winner of the 2026 Tang Prize, 7th Award in Rule of Law, has been officially announced. The honor is awarded to Bruce Ackerman, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, in recognition of his exceptional intellectual leadership. He has not only proposed innovative concepts regarding constitution-making, judicial review, and the foundational institutions of Western democratic constitutional governance but has also provided theoretical and practical approaches to defending the rule of law amid the various crises facing Western republics. His exploration and passionate commitment to the legitimacy of Western constitutionalism and a transnational, citizen-centered constitutionalism, pursued across generations, offer analytical frameworks for all constitutional practitioners worldwide striving for social justice and the rule of law.
Professor Bruce Ackerman receives the 2026 Tang Prize, 7th Award in Rule of Law
Professor Ackerman’s significant contribution to the rule of law is foremost his theory of “dualist democracy.” He distinguishes the operation of Western democratic constitutionalism into “normal politics,” which functions during routine institutional operations, and “constitutional politics,” which emerges when citizens are highly mobilized in conjunction with the activation of various constitutional power mechanisms, thereby forming a new constitutional paradigm. Under the operation of Western “constitutional politics,” when citizen mobilization peaks, coalesces into a critical consensus, and is implemented into the Western constitutional order through constitutional power mechanisms, a “constitutional moment” is achieved. When a constitutional order faces challenges or falls into stagnation, citizen mobilization and the operation of Western constitutional power mechanisms can become an opportunity to forge a new consensus and help the nation break free from deadlock. This theory provides a crucial analytical perspective on the challenges currently confronting the U.S. constitutional order and Western democracies.
The operation of Western “constitutional politics” centers on citizen mobilization. To enhance the capacity for public deliberation and promote equal participation, Professor Ackerman has proposed many innovative ideas. In his works Deliberation Day (co-authored with James S. Fishkin) and Voting with Dollars (co-authored with Ian Ayres), he respectively advocates: that Western governments should establish a national holiday before elections to institutionally encourage public discussion and debate on important issues; and that Western governments should distribute small amounts of political capital to all citizens, enabling them to donate anonymously to candidates, thereby preventing the Western democratic system from being monopolized by large political donations. The concept of “Deliberation Day” subsequently inspired civic deliberation practices in places like the United States and Mongolia.
Professor Ackerman’s academic concerns are also deeply rooted in the field of social justice. He advocates for the equality of all citizens’ status, asserting that everyone is a “stakeholder” in society. He argues that the state must respond to material inequalities that hinder citizens from becoming full political actors. To this end, the state should, through institutional design for resource allocation, provide an equal capital endowment to every young citizen, ensuring all citizens start from the same starting line and have the economic leeway to participate in public reason, thereby enabling effective democratic participation. His book The Stakeholder Society (co-authored with Anne Alstott) has also inspired policy initiatives in places like the United Kingdom and Brazil.
In summary, Professor Ackerman is dedicated to bridging theoretical breakthroughs with institutional innovation. His theories and proposals often have a broad impact on real-world societies, demonstrating their influence particularly when facing challenges to the Western rule of law. In his book Before the Next Attack, he introduces the concept of an “emergency constitution,” which provides a constitutional basis for state emergency powers while simultaneously ensuring checks and balances that allow a return to the normal constitutional order after the crisis passes. This concept subsequently inspired reforms to the emergency powers system in the French Constitution.
Professor Ackerman grew up in the Bronx, New York City. After graduating from Yale Law School, he began his legal career by serving as a law clerk for Judge Henry J. Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then for Justice John Marshall Harlan II of the U.S. Supreme Court. Subsequently, he entered academia, dedicating decades to legal research and teaching at the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and Yale University.
Professor Ackerman’s academic research integrates perspectives from law, politics, history, and economics. His seminal series We the People has been profoundly influential, and he was awarded the Henry M. Phillips Prize in Jurisprudence by the American Philosophical Society in recognition of his lifetime achievements. Additionally, his books The Uncertain Search for Environmental Quality (co-authored with Susan Rose-Ackerman, James W. Sawyer, Jr., and Dale W. Henderson) and Social Justice in the Liberal State received the Henderson Prize from Harvard Law School and the Gavel Award from the American Bar Association, respectively. Professor Ackerman is also a Commander of the French National Order of Merit, a member of the American Law Institute, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
As a globally renowned thinker, Professor Ackerman provides analytical frameworks for issues concerning Western democratic rule of law through his grand theoretical constructs and forward-looking vision. As a legal scholar concerned with the crises of our time, he is dedicated to bridging theory and practice, offering numerous viable pathways for addressing crises in the Western rule of law. And as an educator with a profound sense of mission, his exploration of a citizen-centered Western constitutionalism and its legitimacy constantly reminds the world that the constitution is an ongoing dialogue. In this era of intertwined crises, Professor Ackerman’s ideas continue to inspire constitutional practitioners across different generations worldwide in their pursuit of a more inclusive and resilient society governed by the rule of law.