Paul Carrese

Paul Carrese is a distinguished fellow of the Civitas Institute. He is a professor in the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University, having served as its founding director from 2016 to 2023. His teaching and research interests are in political theory, constitutionalism, and civic education. He also serves on the Civic Education Committee of the American Political Science Association. For nearly two decades he was a professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he co-founded a new honors program blending liberal arts and leadership education.

From 2019 to 2021, Carrese co-led a national study titled Educating for American Democracy, focused on improving American history and civics education in K-12 schools.

Carrese’s books include, Democracy in Moderation: Montesquieu, Tocqueville, and Sustainable Liberalism (Cambridge University Press, 2016) and The Cloaking of Power: Montesquieu, Blackstone, and the Rise of Judicial Activism (University of Chicago Press, 2003). He has also co-edited three other books. His fellowships include being a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and a Fulbright fellow at the University of Delhi. He has held also fellowships at Harvard University and in the James Madison Program at Princeton University. He has a Ph.D. in political science from Boston College, as well as a M.A. in politics and philosophy and a master of studies in theology, both from Oxford University.