2025 Moynihan Prize Winner
Historian Timothy Snyder Wins the 2025 Moynihan Prize
The AAPSS awarded the 2025 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize to Timothy Snyder, a prolific scholar of Ukraine and of the consequences of authoritarianism in twentieth-century Europe.
âAs the world confronts formidable challenges to democratic institutions, human rights, and the rule of law, Timothy Snyderâs work to document the brutal consequensences of totalitarianism is a sobering reminder of our recent past,â said thenâAAPSS President Marta Tienda. âMoreover, Tim draws on that history in ways that make it relevant to our current circumstances: He asks us to carefully consider the very concept of liberty and urges us to value leadership that promotes sound governance for human rights. It is a privilege for the Academy to recognize Professor Snyder with the 2025 Moynihan Prize.â
A scholar of the history of Central and Eastern Europeâparticularly Ukraine and the Soviet Unionâand of the Holocaust, Professor Snyder is the author or editor of twenty books, which have published in forty languages. His contributions to the international press cover authoritarianism, digital politics, health, and education in Ukraine and the United States. Snyder holds the inaugural Chair in Modern European History, supported by the Temerty Endowment for Ukrainian Studies, at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto and was previously Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University. He is also a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and the head of the academic advisory council of the Ukrainian History Global Initiative.
On being selected for this Prize, Snyder said, âAt a time when engaged social science is both necessary and threatened, I am particularly honored to join the list of distinguished colleagues who have received the Moynihan Prize.â Snyder accepted the Moynihan Prize and delivered the twelfth annual Moynihan Lecture on Social Science and Public Policy in Washington, DC, on October 30.
The 2025 Moynihan Lecture
On Thursday, October 30, in Washington, DC, Snyder delivered the 2025 Moynihan Lecture, titled âUkrainian Humanity: Rethinking How History Is Told.â
Olga Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, addressed the audience before the lecture. Her remarks were followed by a brief introduction by Angela Stent.
Professor Snyder built on his recent work on Ukrainian history going back to the Middle Ages, arguing that the lands and peoples of what is now Ukraine have been foundational to large-scale human settlement across Europe and the development of Indo-European languages and culture. He then explained how the familiar landmarks of European and global history take on a different form when viewed from the perspective of those lands and how elements of modern culture are better understood when their history is more fully interpreted.
After the lecture, Snyder related his historical work to current debates in a conversation with Alexa Chopivsky. Read the AAPSS’s recap of the event or watch the recording here.
