Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
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harvardash.bsky.social
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
@harvardash.bsky.social
200 followers 63 following 190 posts
The Ash Center is @harvardkennedy.bsky.social's hub for research and teaching on democracy.

https://ash.harvard.edu/
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harvardash.bsky.social
Republican state lawmakers in Michigan recently sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting “comprehensive oversight” for Michigan’s 2026 elections. Alex Keyssar comments on the history of federal involvement in elections in the United States.

www.votebeat.org/2025/11/24/m...
A GOP request pushes the limits on federal interference in elections
Michigan Republicans’ letter asking the Trump administration for “comprehensive oversight” of the state’s 2026 elections doesn’t cite any clear legal authority for such an intervention.
www.votebeat.org
November 25, 2025 at 5:09 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Tune in to the next episode of “Terms of Engagement,” live on YouTube at 12pm ET.

www.youtube.com/live/rYUI8rY...
Wait, Wait — What Happened?
YouTube video by Harvard Ash Center
www.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:33 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Ash Center Democracy Visiting Fellow Nicolás Rodríguez recently co-authored an opinion piece on book bans in school libraries.

Learn more here ⤵️
elcomercio.pe/opinion/cola...
Indecopi, desechos y girasoles
“Pero, desafortunadamente, el más básico sentido común no primó esta vez en Indecopi, una institución que suele destacar por su profesionalismo”.
elcomercio.pe
November 24, 2025 at 7:06 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“AI is inherently power-enhancing, and it can magnify what the humans behind it want to do. It can enhance authoritarianism as easily as it can enhance democracy,” share Bruce Schneier and Nathan E. Sanders.

Learn more here ⤵️
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Four ways AI is being used to strengthen democracies worldwide | Nathan E Sanders and Bruce Schneier
The dangers of artificial intelligence and its potential to consolidate power are clear. But used fairly, it can be a boon for good government
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:32 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“We need to provide opportunities for recognition and ongoing learning for a much broader group of public servants, and the Harvard fellowship program exemplifies this,” shares Stephen Goldsmith, on the Kennedy School’s American Service Fellowship.

www.governing.com/management-a...
The Recognition — and Nurturing — Our Public Servants Need
It’s more important than ever to celebrate those who improve the mechanisms of government. And we need to give them the kind of learning opportunities to enable them to have even more of an impact.
www.governing.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:25 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
A new paper from Matthew Cebul, Lead Research Fellow for the Nonviolent Action Lab, examines the effectiveness of nonviolent action movements in supporting democratic resilience globally.

ash.harvard.edu/resources/no...
Nonviolent Action Against Democratic Erosion: The United States in Comparative Perspective – Ash Center
ash.harvard.edu
November 20, 2025 at 6:45 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“As long as Harvard University exists … it will always have a focus on Indigenous governance issues and policy issues because of that endowment.”— Meghan M. Hill, on the 2023 gift to support the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development.

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
‘A Long Time Coming’: HKS’ Indigenous Governance Project Looks to Stable Next Chapter | News | The Harvard Crimson
A $15 million donation in 2023 set the Harvard Kennedy School‘s Project on Indigenous Governance, founded in the 1980s, on a new course for longevity.
www.thecrimson.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“Ultimately, the hope is that Indigenous data are used in a respectful, ethical manner,” shares Randall Akee, on the IEEE’s adoption of a new global standard outlining how scientists and technologists should record, apply, and use Indigenous data.

www.nyu.edu/about/news-p...
NYU Anthropologist Anderson Co-Leads Process to Codify World’s First Global Standard on Indigenous Peoples’ Data
Project with the University of Arizona and Harvard University advises scientists and professionals how to record provenance for data
www.nyu.edu
November 19, 2025 at 4:06 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“Black politics have never committed to political violence and if we’re trying to save democracy, then we need to understand a group of people that not only chose against political violence but have been able to embrace the idea of pluralism.”

thedig.howard.edu/all-stories/...
Howard Political Science Professor Marcus Board Jr. Named a 2025-26 Democracy Visiting Fellow at Harvard University
Political science professor Marcus Board Jr. discusses his forthcoming book project and his tenure as a a 2025-26 Democracy Visiting Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School
thedig.howard.edu
November 18, 2025 at 6:36 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“It is patriotic to revisit, reconsider, and revise the work of the Founders. Anyone who suggests otherwise or treats the Constitution as “too sacred to be touched,” needs to go back and read the Framers,” proposes Jeanne Sheehan Zaino.

www.thepresidency.org/the-dispatch...
The CSPC Dispatch - Nov 14, 2025 — Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress
This issue we cover “At 250, Too Sacred Not to Be Touched,” “The Miracle of Things that Didn’t Happen,” and “Female Firsts: Representation of Women in Elected Office.”
www.thepresidency.org
November 17, 2025 at 8:10 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Danielle Allen joins “Scientific Sense” to discuss her book, “Justice By Means of Democracy,” exploring “the idea that a major component of justice is about actually steering your own life … and steering with others in our public lives.”

youtu.be/-a17ymxj9ls?...
Prof. Danielle Allen of Harvard University on Justice By Means of Democracy.
YouTube video by Scientific Sense
youtu.be
November 17, 2025 at 5:37 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Joseph Kalt and Randall Akee join “Tribal Business News” to discuss the last 40 years of tribal governance insights from the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development and sketch a vision for Native governance in the next generation.

tribalbusinessnews.com/sections/sov...
Q+A: Joe Kalt and Randall Akee on the Harvard Project — 40 years of tribal governance insights, a changing of the guard and the future of Native nation building
Harvard Project founder Joseph P. Kalt and incoming director Randall Akee discuss 40 years of tribal governance research, the core finding that sovereignty requires effective governance, and the futur...
tribalbusinessnews.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:24 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Lawrence Lessig joins Vice News’ “Shane Smith Has Questions” podcast to discuss campaign finance regulation and the impact of super PACs on American politics.

youtu.be/v9JfvcBPFEA?...
The Case That Could Take Down Super PACs & Stop Dark Money ft. Lawrence Lessig | Shane Has Questions
YouTube video by VICE News
youtu.be
November 14, 2025 at 6:29 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Steve Levitsky speaks to the Democratic victories in last week’s elections, examining how fielding candidates across “multiple wings of the party” could contribute to Democrats’ success in elections at the national level.

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Harvard Researchers Say Strong Campaigns, Effective Anti-Trump Messaging Boosted Democrats in 2025 Elections | News | The Harvard Crimson
Political scientists at Harvard said Democratic victories in last week’s off-cycle elections were a sign of powerful backlash to Donald Trump’s presidency, but that Democrats could not afford to rest ...
www.thecrimson.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:23 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“Midterm election candidates will look for any way they can get an edge. For all the risks it poses to democracy, AI presents a real opportunity, too, for politicians to engage voters en masse while factoring their input into their platform and message.”

thefulcrum.us/media-techno...
Who Will Be the First American Candidate To Harness AI
Social media has been a familiar, even mundane, part of life for nearly two decades. It can be easy to forget it was not always that way.In 2008, social media was just emerging into the mainstream. Fa...
thefulcrum.us
November 13, 2025 at 9:32 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Marshall Ganz suggests that generating power for social movements relies on two key elements: “organized people and organized money.”

Learn more here ⤵️
nonprofitquarterly.org/forging-a-pa...
Forging a Path to Democracy with Labor and Solidarity at the Center | Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.
To build the democracy we never had, activating people power—animated by an inclusive vision for our economy, especially through labor unions—is essential.
nonprofitquarterly.org
November 13, 2025 at 5:39 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“We need to take a look at our curriculum and make sure that our students have the chance to have what would count as a rich experience of civic learning in higher education,” shares Danielle Allen, on university reforms to strengthen democracy.

buckleybeacon.com/2025/11/06/h...
Harvard Professor and Former MA Gubernatorial Candidate Calls for University Reform at YPU
Harvard’s Danielle Allen debated members of the Yale Political Union on the resolution, “Resolved: Reform the University.” ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​…
buckleybeacon.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:43 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“To understand the potential impacts of AI on democracy, we must always think beyond the capabilities and innate properties of AI, and focus on the systems, incentives, and political forces within which the AI is built, deployed, and wielded over time.”

time.com/7331883/how-...
How AI Will Transform Democracy
AI "tools can be exploited by people who want to make democracy more authoritarian," write Schneier and Sanders.
time.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:43 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Lawrence Lessig discusses ongoing litigation regarding campaign finance regulation in Maine. “We need to start thinking seriously about how we bring constitutional reform through this process that involves citizens as opposed to lawyers and politicians.”

bowdoinorient.com/2025/11/07/h...
Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig discusses the strategy for ongoing Maine campaign finance litigation – The Bowdoin Orient
bowdoinorient.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:27 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Ruth Greenwood joins the Touro Law Review podcast to discuss legal and political responses to gerrymandering and challenges to the Voting Rights Act in recent history.

youtu.be/Zibe_ZRkka4?...
Drawing the Lines: Gerrymandering and Election Law
YouTube video by Touro Law Center
youtu.be
November 7, 2025 at 6:10 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Pita Limjaroenrat delivers the State of Asia Address at Asia Society Switzerland and the University of Zurich. “The question now is whether Asia, like Europe once did, can build its own frameworks for peace and cooperation before conflict defines them.”

asiasociety.org/switzerland/...
State of Asia Address 2025
On the eve of our flagship STATE OF ASIA Conference, we are hosting our public State of Asia Address with Pita Limjaroenrat, former Prime Minister-designate of Thailand, in collaboration with the Univ...
asiasociety.org
November 7, 2025 at 5:34 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Freddy Guevara comments on Venezuela’s current political atmosphere “amid heightened U.S. military presence near Venezuela and reports that the Trump administration is considering military action in the country.”

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Venezuelan Opposition Leaders Say Military Support May Be Last Resort at IOP Forum | News | The Harvard Crimson
Former Venezuelan National Assembly deputy Miguel A. Pizarro said he supports potential U.S. military intervention in Venezuela during a panel at the Institute of Politics Wednesday evening.
www.thecrimson.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:33 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Nicholas Stephanopoulos comments on the federal lawsuit filed by California Republicans over the state’s recently approved congressional maps, with the suit claiming “the maps are unconstitutional because they improperly rely on race to draw districts.”

www.newsmax.com/newsfront/re...
www.newsmax.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:30 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Linda Bilmes assesses the long-term costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, estimating “the cost of disability benefits for the Iraq and Afghanistan generation would reach between $1.3 trillion and $1.5 trillion by 2050.”

Read more here ⤵️
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
The trouble with US veterans benefits isn’t ‘rampant’ fraud – it’s bureaucratic roadblocks, advocates say
Veterans groups say recent Washington Post stories on VA disability payments paint a misleading picture. The paper stands by its reporting
www.theguardian.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:38 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Eric Maskin on public education to inform voters: “For the public to be willing to vote for change, they have to be educated. They have to understand why the current system, the old system, is flawed, and why the new proposal for reform is better.”

thewellesleynews.com/21886/news/n...
Nobel laureate Eric Maskin and leading scholars attend Wellesley’s mathematics and democracy conference
From Oct. 15 to Oct. 17, researchers, democracy advocates, and students gathered at Wellesley College for the “Social Choice: Theory and Computation Conference” hosted by Institute for Mathematics and...
thewellesleynews.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:14 PM