Richard F Bensel

Richard F. Bensel is the Gary S. Davis Professor of Government at Cornell University, specializing in American political development, comparative state formation, and institutional analysis. His research examines US Congressional evolution, party systems, and the philosophical foundations of social science.

Bensel teaches graduate courses like Philosophical and Empirical Foundations of the Social Sciences and researches historical patterns of state-building in democratic and non-democratic contexts. Recent publications analyze modern state formation, democratic founding paradoxes, and the Voting Rights Act's impact on Southern welfare systems.