The prize is awarded for the best social science essay in a German-language journal to increase the international visibility of German social science papers. The first prize is endowed with EUR 1,500.

In their article, Prof. Dr. Steffen Mau, Dr. Thomas Lux and Dr. Fabian Gülzau (Humboldt University Berlin) question the often-cited thesis of a new two-camp polarisation in terms of tolerance towards redistribution, integration and acceptance, in which groups with higher social status endorse migration and diversity (globalisation winner) against the opposition of groups with lower social status. Specifically, their paper explores the extent to which attitudes towards the three conflict issues of "economic redistribution", "migration" and "sexual diversity" are interrelated and what positions different socio-structural groups take on these issues. Methodologically, the authors develop a conceptual framework that goes beyond the dominant two-camp polarisation theory. They conclude that the differences in attitudes on these three conflict issues are moderate and do not point to the deep cleavage line that is often assumed in the discussion, except attitudes towards migration.