Peter A. Swenson

Peter A. Swenson is the C.M. Saden Professor of Political Science at Yale University and holds an appointment in the Institution for Social and Policy Studies. His research focuses on comparative political economy, labor markets, social welfare, and health care politics in Europe and the United States. He is renowned for his work on the history of American medicine and the political dynamics shaping health care systems.

Swenson earned a Ph.D. from Yale University (1986) and a B.A. from Princeton University (1977). His academic career at Yale has spanned over three decades, during which he has published influential books, including Capitalists against Markets (2002) and Disorder: A History of Reform, Reaction, and Money in American Medicine (2021). His scholarship examines the intersections of business interests, public policy, and social movements.

His research interests include the political economy of welfare states, the role of organized business in policy formation, and the historical evolution of health care systems. He has received prestigious awards such as the APSA Mary Parker Follett Prize twice (2002, 2019) and honorable mentions for major book awards.

Swenson’s work often critiques conventional narratives, as seen in his analysis of American medicine’s transformation and the contentious debates over equity and regulation in health care. He teaches courses on comparative social policy and market regulation in democratic societies.