Carnegie Corporation of New York has announced a commitment of $6 million a year for at least three years in support of research to explore the causes, effects, and potential solutions of political polarization within the United States.

The second phase of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program follows a one-year pause in the program, which annually awards research stipends of $200,000 over one or two years to 30 scholars, journalists, and authors to support dedicated time to conduct significant research. Through the fellows’ work, Carnegie Corporation aims to raise awareness of political polarization in the philanthropic sector, guide public policy, and help inform the foundation’s grantmaking in democracy, education, and international peace and security. The program will relaunch with the Class of 2024, to be announced in spring 2024.

“The fragility of American democracy has been exposed in recent years to a degree that is quite frightening,” said Carnegie Corporation president Dame Louise Richardson. “The driving force appears to be the increasing polarization of American politics and, by extension, American society. We would like to understand this polarization, what caused it, what perpetuates it, and above all, how it might be mitigated, or even reversed, by strengthening the forces of cohesion in American society.”

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