Amichai Magen

Amichai Magen

Amichai Magen

  • Director, Jan Koum Israel Studies Program, CDDRL
  • Senior Research Scholar, CDDRL
  • Visiting Fellow in Israel Studies, FSI (2022-2025)
  • W. Glenn Campbell National Fellow, Hoover Institution (2008-2009)
  • CDDRL Affiliated Scholar, 2008-2009
  • CDDRL Predoctoral Fellow, 2004-2008

Biography

Amichai Magen is a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) and the founding director of the center's Jan Koum Israel Studies Program. Previously, he served as the visiting fellow in Israel Studies at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, head of the MA Program in Diplomacy & Conflict Studies, and director of the Program on Democratic Resilience and Development (PDRD) at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel. His research and teaching interests address democracy, the rule of law, liberal orders, risk and political violence, as well as Israeli politics and policy.

Magen received the Yitzhak Rabin Fulbright Award (2003), served as a pre-doctoral fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, and was the W. Glenn Campbell National Fellow at the Hoover Institution (2008-9). In 2016, he was named a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow of the Robert Bosch Academy, an award that recognizes outstanding thought leaders around the world. Between 2018 and 2022, he served as principal investigator in two European Union Horizon 2020 research consortia, EU-LISTCO and RECONNECT. Amichai Magen served on the Executive Committee of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and is a Board Member of the Israel Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR) and the International Coalition for Democratic Renewal (ICDR).

publications

Journal Articles
January 2025

The Second “Mahapach” Is Already Here

Author(s)
The Second “Mahapach” Is Already Here
Journal Articles
May 2024

U.S. Democratic Backsliding and the Decline of Democratic Support Abroad

Author(s)
U.S. Democratic Backsliding and the Decline of Democratic Support Abroad
Journal Articles
September 2023

Israel’s Summer of Discontent

Author(s)
Israel’s Summer of Discontent

In The News

An Iranian flag is planted in the rubble of a police station, damaged in airstrikes on March 3, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.
Commentary

Seven Things to Know About the U.S.-Israel Campaign in Iran

Scholars from FSI offer insights into the war between Iran and U.S.-Israel forces, and the risk of the conflict expanding beyond the Middle East.
Seven Things to Know About the U.S.-Israel Campaign in Iran
Judea Pearl (R) in conversation with Amichai Magen (L) at the 2026 Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture.
News

Judea Pearl Examines Coexistence, Sovereignty Among Israelis, Palestinians

UCLA scholar reflects on history, legitimacy, and the prospects for two states at the Jan Koum Israel Studies Program’s annual Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture.
Judea Pearl Examines Coexistence, Sovereignty Among Israelis, Palestinians
Photo of Karnit Flug in webinar
News

The Israeli Economy at a Crossroads

Former Governor of the Bank of Israel Karnit Flug examines growth, governance, and the structural risks facing Israel.
The Israeli Economy at a Crossroads