Benjamin Schwabe is an America in the World Consortium Predoctoral Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a Ph.D. candidate in Government. His research explores the relationship between necessity and liberty in early modern political philosophy.

His dissertation project explores this relationship in the political philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli. It argues that Machiavelli’s concept of necessity is novel and transformative, and that on the basis of his reflections on political necessity in domestic and foreign affairs, Machiavelli constructs a unique conception of liberty – moral, political, and spiritual.

Benjamin attained a M.A. in Government from the University of Texas, Austin in 2023. Prior to attending the University of Texas, he received B.A.s in International Relations and Political Theory & Constitutional Democracy from Michigan State University in 2021.