Swarthmore College Associate Professor of Political Science Ben Berger is available for comment on effective civic engagement and voter enthusiasm related to the 2014 midterm election.

Berger is an expert in modern political theory and is the author of the award-winning book, Attention Deficit Democracy: The Paradox of Civic Engagement (2011), which analyzes citizens' inattention throughout history up through the present day. "People always pay much less attention to politics than idealists and very engaged practitioners think they ought to do," says Berger. "To say 'democracy' is to say 'attention deficit,'" he adds, noting that Aristophanes complained about apathy in ancient Greece, as did Alexis de Tocqueville in the 1830s. "The key," he says, "is to understand the reasons for political inattention and then respond creatively to the root causes."

Berger is one of 26 Periclean Faculty Leaders nationwide and directs Swarthmore's Engaging Democracy Project, a program designed to promote community engagement, political participation and responsible citizenship in the classroom, on campus, and in the wider community.

To speak with Berger, please contact Mark Anskis ([email protected] / 570-274-0471) in the Swarthmore College communications office.