Mercatus Center Announces Two New Visiting Fellows with the Program on Pluralism and Civil Exchange

Arlington, VA—The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Seth Kaplan and Dr. Ilana Redstone as Visiting Fellows with the Program on Pluralism and Civil Exchange. The Program, which launched this summer, focuses on building pathways toward a free and peaceful society.

Dr. Kaplan is a Professorial Lecturer in the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a Senior Adviser for the Institute for Integrated Transitions. Dr. Kaplan is a leading expert on fragile states and political economic analysis and has written two books on fragile states.

“As a Visiting Fellow, I will continue to focus on the fragility of societies, in this case American society,” said Dr. Kaplan. “My research will look at the importance of local social dynamics to national developments, and how neighborhoods might be an entry point for change, and look forward to working with the Mercatus’ Program on Pluralism and Civil Exchange to explore these ideas.”

Dr. Redstone is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is the founder of Diverse Perspectives Consulting and the president and CEO of The Mill Center for the Advancement of Critical Thinking. She is also a faculty fellow at Heterodox Academy.

“I’m delighted to be joining the group of visiting fellows at Mercatus,” said Dr. Redstone. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to grow and expand the reach of my work on the advancement of critical thinking and viewpoint diversity. I look forward to engaging on these topics.”

Dr. Kaplan and Dr. Redstone join the Program’s four inaugural visiting fellows and will be part of ongoing conversations about the core values necessary to build a free and open society, as well as the challenges to maintaining such a society.  

To learn more about the Program on Pluralism and Civil Exchange, please visit our website. For media inquiries, please contact Matthew Boyer at 703-993-8094 or [email protected].