Democracy demands new ideas.


Harvard’s hub for research and teaching on democracy

The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation develops ideas and fosters practices for equal and inclusive, multiracial, and multiethnic democracy and self-governance.

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Our Work

From expanding voting access to developing new strategies for antiracist organizational change, we tackle the most pressing issues facing democracy and democratic institutions around the world today.

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Latest News

News & Analysis

Episode Four: The Movement to Stop Cop City

Podcast

Episode Four: The Movement to Stop Cop City

Host Jay Ulfelder sits down with Joseph Brown, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston, to discuss a mass mobilization in Atlanta to stop a new a police training center amid environmental and community rights concerns.

What led to the rise — and then fall — of participatory democracy in Colombia?
A ballot box reads

Feature

What led to the rise — and then fall — of participatory democracy in Colombia?

Research by Democracy Postdoctoral Fellow Jamie Shenk highlights how referendums in Colombia served as a powerful tool to block the expansion of mining and oil enterprises before the practice was curbed by the country’s Supreme Court.

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Ash Center Open House

Ash Center Open House

In-Person Event

Ash Center Foyer, Suite 200, 124 Mount Auburn Street
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT

Photo of Gloria Ayee hugging another event goer.

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