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Fellowships in different political traditions?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

The last two academic years I was a fellow in a program funded by a libertarian/classical liberal center. I have greatly enjoyed the program and found it to be intellectually open and energizing, as well as a great opportunity to talk to other phd students from a variety of disciplines. It has also provided a very very helpful boost to my meager graduate stipend. The format of the fellowship was 3-4 colloquia throughout the year with read-ahead discussion sections during each one. Despite my enjoyment of the program, I'm curious if anyone knows of a similar style of fellowship that focuses on a different tradition (e.g. social democracy).

Do any readers have any tips?

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2 responses to “Fellowships in different political traditions?”

  1. MyExperience

    I too had a wonderful experience working in a libertarian research center, despite not being a libertarian myself. It was, as you say, a wonderfully open environment.
    As far as political philosophy in the US goes, the intellectual landscape seems to be (1) egalitarian/”woke” (for lack of a better term) centers and (2) libertarian / classical liberal centers. Obviously, (1) is an order of magnitude larger than (2). And, unlike (2), (1) is not welcoming to people who are not true believers.
    So I’m not aware of anything along the lines of what you’re looking for in American philosophy. But you could look for research centers in other fields that have a normative slant, like econ. You could also look to Europe, which has a more diverse (and rigorous) intellectual environment.

    Reply
  2. Malte

    For anyone interested in the classical liberal programs, Mercatus and the Institute for Humane Studies both offer such programs. OP might be referencing Mercatus. I had very positive experiences with both, and can recommend them greatly to other graduate students.

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