Photo: mojzagreb.info

On 20 April 2026, the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth announced the recipients of the State Prize for Science for the year 2024. In the field of social sciences—specifically sociology, within the subfield of special sociologies—the award was conferred upon Associate Professor Ivan Burić, PhD, a faculty member of the Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb.

In 2024, Professor Burić published the book Sociology of Croatian Society: Processes and Structures in Contemporary Croatian Society. Within Croatian sociology, this work represents a seminal contribution. Through its theoretical rigor and analytical precision, and by employing key sociological concepts and theories, the book examines the most significant processes shaping the development of Croatian society.

The volume offers an original synthesis of the evolution of Croatian society over the past three decades, drawing upon a wide range of existing analyses—an approach that is distinctive within the national sociological scholarship. Furthermore, it provides insights into topics such as population dynamics, emigration, varieties of capitalism, social stratification and inequality, value orientations, religion, and related issues. In this respect, the book establishes new standards for the study and understanding of Croatian society and proposes models for future research.