Gershon and Carol Kekst Professor of Civil Society
and Wilson H. Elkins Professor
Maryland School of Public Affairs and the
College of Behavioral and Social Sciences

301-405-4129
Bbarber@gvpt.umd.edu

Expertise

Benjamin R. Barber, one of the most distinguished political theorists of our time, is the author of the international best seller Jihad Versus McWorld, the theory classic Strong Democracy, and, most recently, The Truth of Power: Intellectual Affairs in the Clinton White House .

Dr. Barber is a principal in The Democracy Collaborative, a component of the university's Civil Society Initiative that brings together an international consortium of the world's leading academic centers and citizen engagement organizations.

Dr. Barber served as director of the Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy at Rutgers University for 12 years, where he also held the Walt Whitman Chair of Political Science. He has consulted widely with political and civic leaders, including former President Bill Clinton. He is the author of fourteen books. His honors include Guggenheim, Fulbright, and Social Science Research Fellowships, the Palmes Academiques (Chevalier) of the French Government, and the Berlin Prize of the American Academy of Berlin. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from Harvard University, and a B.A. and honorary doctorate from Grinnell College.