Benjamin Goldfrank, Ph.D.
Professor
School of Diplomacy and International Relations
(973) 275-2095
Email
McQuaid Hall
Room 112
Benjamin Goldfrank, Ph.D.
Benjamin Goldfrank joined the School of Diplomacy and International Relations in 2007 and served as Department Chair from 2013 to 2019. He teaches classes on Latin American politics, society, and economic development, and U.S. foreign policy toward the region, as well as the capstone research project course. His research interests focus on the comparative analysis of Latin American politics, experiments in participatory democracy, and political parties.
Dr. Goldfrank has published over 30 articles and book chapters. He is also the author of Deepening Local Democracy in Latin America: Participation, Decentralization and the Left (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2011) and co-editor of The Left in the City: Participatory Local Governments in Latin America (London: Latin American Bureau and Transnational Institute, 2004), which was translated into Spanish and Italian.
Education
- Ph.D., Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, 2002
- M.A., Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, 1996
- B.A., Social Studies, Harvard University, 1993
Scholarship
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“Participatory Democracy in Latin America? Limited Legacies of the Left Turn,” in Legacies of the Left Turn in Latin America: The Promise of Inclusive Citizenship, edited by Manuel Bálan and Francoise Montambeault (Notre Dame University Press, 2020).
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"Participatory Budgeting in Canada and the United States. Hope for Democracy: 30 Years of Participatory Budgeting Worldwide" Co-authored with Katherine Landes, Epopeia Records and Oficina. 2018
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"The Latin American Left’s Missed Opportunity to Deepen Democracy," Journal of International Affairs, 71:1 (Fall/Winter 2017).
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"Good Government and Politics as Usual: The Schizophrenic Path of the Workers' Party," co-authored with Brian Wampler, in Peter Kingstone and Timothy Power, eds., Democratic Brazil Divided. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh, 2017.
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"Participatory Budgeting in Latin American Cities," in Urban Latin America: Inequalities and Neoliberal Reforms, edited by Tom Angotti. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.
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"Mejorando las posibilidades del éxito del presupuesto participativo," in Procesos de descentralización y participación, edited by Alejandro Noboa, Mariano Suárez, y Natalia Bisio. Salto: Universidad de la República Regional Norte, 2015.
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"Democracia participativa e izquierdas: logros, contradicciones, y desafíos," in Democracia participativa e izquierdas: logros, contradicciones, y desafíos, edited by Anja Minnaert and Gustavo Endara. Quito: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2015.
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"Una mirada panorámica a la primera ola local de la izquierda," in El giro a la izquierda: los gobiernos locales en América Latina, edited by Fernando Carrión and Paul Ponce. Quito: FES-ILDIS and Quinta Avenida, 2015.
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"The World Bank and the Globalization of Participatory Budgeting."
Journal of Public Deliberation, 8:, December 2012.
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"Democracia participativa y sostenibilidad ambiental: Una revisita a las Lecciones de América Latina." Nueva Sociedad, Buenos Aires, Argentina, No. 240 July-August 2012.
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"Church, State, and Human Rights in Latin America." Politics, Religion & Ideology, 13:1 March 2012.
Accomplishments
Awards and Grants
- Seton Hall University Teacher of the Year, 2016.
- Teacher of the Year, School of Diplomacy, Seton Hall University, 2016.
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Salgo-Noren Teacher of the Year, School of Diplomacy, Seton Hall University, 2012.
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Researcher of the Year, School of Diplomacy, Seton Hall University, 2011-2012.
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University Research Council Award, Seton Hall University, 2010.
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Fulbright Fellowship, for dissertation research in Brazil, 1998-9.
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Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Harvard University, 1993.