Benjamin Press News Today

Carolyn Press passed away. This is the full obituary where you can share condolences and memories. Published in the Cumberland Times News on 2024-01-19.

President Biden’s decisions on when to speak out forcefully for democracy can prove tricky.

President Joe Biden has made it his mission to wage what he momentously calls “the battle between democracy and autocracy.” But what to do when the ones he believes are undermining democracy are friends? In the case of Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday pushed through parliament new curbs on an independent judiciary, Biden has chosen to speak out. The vote in Jerusalem, he declared, was “unfortunate,” the fourth time in a week he chastised Netan...

Just exactly what kind of problem is ‘democratic backsliding? Is it a truly global phenomenon, and what is causing it? Where does correlation end and causation begin? In a recent working paper, Tom Carothers and Benjamin Press of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ask the right questions, and settle on the vital role of ‘countervailing institutions’ – the checks

As the world faces a democratic recession, many of the most common explanations fall short. But looking more closely at antidemocratic leaders’ motivations and methods reveals valuable insights about different types of backsliding and how international actors should respond.

As policymakers look ahead, they must find a way to balance the need for inclusive resilience with the imperative for meaningful reform.

Benjamin Press is a research assistant in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program.

To better understand the various paths by which societies might overcome or reduce political divisions, this working paper examines perniciously polarized countries that have successfully depolarized, at least for a time.

The advent of the disease was the “almost ideal polarizing crisis.”

Two Princetonians awarded Gaither Fellowship to work at Carnegie Endowment Jennifer Altmann, for the Office of Communications April 30, 2021 2:05 p.m. Princeton University senior Nikhita Salgame has been awarded a Gaither Junior Fellowship, which gives graduating seniors an opportunity to work as research assistants to scholars at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Benjamin Press, a 2020 graduate, received the award in 2020. They were among a select group of students from...