Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
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harvardash.bsky.social
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
@harvardash.bsky.social
210 followers 63 following 210 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
“The internet has become … a major enabler of human rights. … Ultimately, the question comes down to whether or not governments will enshrine both a right to access information and freedom of expression in law and practice.”

gizmodo.com/how-governme...
How Governments Turn the Internet Into a Weapon
From protests to elections, governments are increasingly pulling the internet plug on entire populations. Connectivity is slowly becoming a tool of control, not a guarantee.
gizmodo.com
December 15, 2025 at 6:49 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“Americans must sustain a kind of double vision, recognizing that their country is confronting authoritarianism while not forgetting that avenues for democratic contestation remain open,” share Steve Levitsky, Lucan A. Way, and Daniel Ziblatt.

www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
The Price of American Authoritarianism
What can reverse democratic decline?
www.foreignaffairs.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:25 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“Democracy isn’t something you have, it’s something you do. It’s a practice. Practiced involve concepts, skills, and values, but they are dynamic. There’s always new learning to be had,” shares Marshall Ganz, on organizing amidst democratic erosion.

wagingnonviolence.org/2025/12/mars...
Veteran organizer Marshall Ganz sees a path to power under Trump
The lifelong organizer diagnoses how we hit rock-bottom and identifies where we must go next, citing the Mamdani campaign as a model.
wagingnonviolence.org
December 10, 2025 at 2:52 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Cornell William Brooks comments on the National Park Service’s new list of free admission days, which now excludes Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from this benefit.

Learn more here ⤵️

apnews.com/article/nati...
National Park Service drops free admission on MLK Day, Juneteenth while adding Trump's birthday
The National Park Service will no longer offer free admission to Americans on Martin Luther King Jr.
apnews.com
December 9, 2025 at 6:04 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Tune in to the season finale of "Terms of Engagement," live on YouTube at 12pm ET!

Watch here ⤵️

www.youtube.com/watch?v=odk0...
What Does the MAGA New Right Think?
YouTube video by Harvard Ash Center
www.youtube.com
December 9, 2025 at 2:47 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“Democracies everywhere—not just in Thailand—are under strain. … In this political climate, the Southeast Asian tradition of “neutrality”—a diplomatic posture of indifference or refusal to take sides—may no longer suffice.”

Learn more here ⤵️
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/06/s...
The World Order Is Shifting. Will Democracy Catch Up?
www.nytimes.com
December 8, 2025 at 3:23 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“All over this Commonwealth, I have met people who are so frustrated because they do not have choices on their ballot, because they feel that their votes are taken for granted by politicians. All-party primary will change that,” shares Danielle Allen.

www.statehousenews.com/news/politic...
All-party primaries seen as 'changing the incentives'
Supporters of an all-party primary system in Massachusetts delivered around 80,000 certified signatures to the state elections division on Monday, as proponents positioned the measure as the solution ...
www.statehousenews.com
December 4, 2025 at 6:41 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
In an episode of “The Current” podcast, Norm Eisen, chair of the Anti-Corruption, Democracy, and Security project at Brookings, discusses the forthcoming fourth edition of the Democracy Playbook, to be edited in partnership with Archon Fung.

www.brookings.edu/articles/ins...
Inside the next Democracy Playbook: Strategies for global democratic U-turns | Brookings
In this episode, ACDS chair Norm Eisen discusses the forthcoming fourth edition of the Democracy Playbook and the emerging research showing how democracies can reverse democratic backsliding. He expla...
www.brookings.edu
December 4, 2025 at 3:45 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“If we think about adapting to climate change, we think about adapting to AI, the other shocks that are coming along down the line we need to make sure we have the investments and the institutions in place to help us redeploy labour,” notes Gordon Hanson.

insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/deb...
DEBATE ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY: SHAPING ECONOMIC POLICIES AMID A SHIFTING GLOBAL LANDSCAPE TRANSCRIPT OF PRESIDENT THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM'S INTERVENTIONS AT IMF HEADQUARTERS, 16 OCTOBER 2025
First, sitting next to me is the President of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam. And then, of course, the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, is next to him. And then, of course...
insurancenewsnet.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:51 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“The more AI is adopted by individuals and institutions, the more the concentration of its control threatens democracy. … AI that works for democracy needs to actually be democratic, and that requires something more than today’s corporate AI systems.”

contrarian.substack.com/p/how-to-bui...
How to build AI for democracy
Good governance of artificial intelligence requires providing for trustworthy AI.
contrarian.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 3:46 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Vanderbilt Law School’s Respectfully Dissent debate series hosted Nicholas Stephanopoulos, Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, to explore arguments in Louisiana v. Callais and examine the future of the Voting Rights Act.

law.vanderbilt.edu/louisiana-v-...
Louisiana v. Callais and the Future of the Voting Rights Act -
Vanderbilt Law held the third debate in the Respectfully Dissent series, titled Louisiana v. Callais and the Future of the Voting Rights Act
law.vanderbilt.edu
December 2, 2025 at 7:55 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“Just as social media users have faced platform choices with a range of value propositions and ideological valences—ad diverse as X, Bluesky, Mastodon—the same will increasingly be true of AI,” share Bruce Schneier and Nathan E. Sanders.

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/like...
Like Social Media, AI Requires Difficult Choices
Social media was supposed to amplify our voices, but it ended up controlling us. Will AI be the same?
www.lawfaremedia.org
December 2, 2025 at 5:57 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
Tune in to today’s episode of “Terms of Engagement,” on YouTube at 12 pm ET.

www.youtube.com/live/ymNUbeY...
The Politics of the Epstein Files
YouTube video by Harvard Ash Center
www.youtube.com
December 2, 2025 at 3:42 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
"Fairness plays an obvious role in democracy. ... Whether we're designing a citizens’ assembly, supporting public decision-making, or helping roommates split rent ... define fairness precisely, then build algorithms that bring that definition to life."

seas.harvard.edu/news/2025/11...
https://seas.harvard.edu/news/2025/11/can-ai-strengthen-democracy-and-improve-collective-decision-m…
December 1, 2025 at 8:19 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
“If more citizen watchdogs and litigators use AI to amplify their power to oversee government and hold it accountable, if more political parties and election administrators use it to engage meaningfully … society will be better off.”

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
December 1, 2025 at 3:17 PM
harvardash.bsky.social
At the Falling Walls Science Summit 2025, Daniel Ziblatt discusses challenges to academic freedom, emphasizing collaboration between universities, civil society organizations, and the media to protect research institutions.

www.volkswagenstiftung.de/en/news/even...
Academic freedom under pressure | VolkswagenStiftung
At the Falling Walls Science Summit 2025, leading representatives of the scientific community discussed threats to academic freedom – and how research institutions can strengthen their resilience.
www.volkswagenstiftung.de
November 26, 2025 at 3:15 PM
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