Joshua Cohen is a political philosopher, who has written on democracy (esp. deliberative democracy and new forms of democratic governance), equality, basic liberties, and global justice. At Stanford, Cohen teaches political science, philosophy, and law. He co-directs the Program on Liberation technologies and has been working on how human-centered design can shape mobile-for-development projects. Cohen is currently on the faculty of Apple University. Since 1991, he has been editor of Boston Review.

He received his B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy from Yale University in 1973, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Harvard University in 1979.