Democracy demands new ideas.
Media Release
Six Programs Advance to the Site Visit Round for the 2025 Honoring Nations Awards
Commentary
Labor in the Courts: How Unions Have Stood Up for Workers’ Rights During the First 100 Days
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-government.
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.
Latest News
Media Release
Six Programs Advance to the Site Visit Round for the 2025 Honoring Nations Awards
The Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development’s Honoring Nations program is thrilled to announce the selection of six outstanding tribal programs advancing to the site visit round for the 2025 awards.
Commentary
Labor in the Courts: How Unions Have Stood Up for Workers’ Rights During the First 100 Days
In its first 100 days, the Trump administration has taken sweeping, aggressive action against federal employees, impacting hundreds of thousands of workers and sending ripple effects across the country. Still, unions have stood strong, with the AFL-CIO, AFT, AFSCME, SEIU, and others filing over a dozen lawsuits to protect workers’ rights.
Commentary
US democratic backsliding encourages repression abroad — but also protest
Matthew Cebul and Sharan Grewal explain that dictators around the world have been emboldened by the Trump administration’s abandonment of democracy and human rights norms, but crackdowns may spark stronger and more unified pro-democracy movements.