Stephen W. Sawyer

Stephen W. Sawyer is the Ballantine-Leavitt Professor of History and Director of the Center for Critical Democracy Studies at the American University of Paris (AUP). He holds a PhD from the University of Chicago and has held fellowships at institutions such as the University of Chicago, Collège de France, and Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences. His research focuses on democracy, modern state transformations, urban policy, and European political thought, with a particular emphasis on 19th-century France.

Education: Sawyer earned his BA from Hanover College, followed by MA and PhD in History from the University of Chicago. His academic leadership roles include editorial board memberships for Annales and directorship of The Tocqueville Review.

Research Interests: Sawyer’s work examines democracy as a mode of popular governance and state formation. Key projects include Demos Assembled (2018) and the forthcoming Demos Rising (2025), exploring democratic origins in France. He also studies urban policy, cultural planning, and radicalization prevention in contemporary France.

Publications: Over 60 articles and 9 edited volumes, including works on Foucault, Rosanvallon, and democratic theory. Recent works address radicalization, statecraft, and transnational democratic histories.

• Grants & Fellowships: Neubauer Collegium Fellow (2014), Stanford Kratter Visiting Professor (2020), and Stanford Behavioral Sciences Research Fellow (2018–2019).
• Editorial Roles: Associate Editor of Annales (English edition), Director of Tocqueville Review, and founder of Tocqueville21.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Democracy Labs (D.Labs) at AUP’s Center for Critical Democracy Studies, focusing on de-radicalization and democratic resilience.