Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor, Harvard University; Director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
George Edwards, Distinguished Fellow, University of Oxford; University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies Emeritus, Texas A&M UniversityAlex Keyssar, Matthew W. Stirling, Jr. Professor of History
and Social Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
Moderated by Archon Fung, Innovation Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government at Harvard Kennedy School; Director, Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance
Surveying Sportsmanship as a Framework for Civility
Sports may seem far removed from the challenges facing American democracy, but both rely on a shared commitment to rules, competition, and respect for opponents. As political polarization deepens, some scholars are looking beyond traditional civic institutions and asking whether the values that govern athletics can help strengthen democratic life. New research from the Ronald Reagan Center on Civility and Democracy suggests the answer may be yes.
Terms of Engagement—Mapping Risks to the 2026 Elections
Samantha Tarazi, co-founder and CEO of the nonpartisan Voting Rights Lab, joins Terms of Engagement co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to discuss a new tool that predicts where threats to election integrity are most likely to appear this upcoming voting season.
Navigating Democracy’s Next Chapter at the “Founding Futures” Conference
Ash Center Fellow Jon Alexander joined a diverse group of speakers at TED Democracy Philadelphia to share bold ideas for revitalizing modern democracy.
Tova Wang, director of research projects in democratic practice at the Ash Center, shares her top picks for summer reads focused on making democracy more resilient, responsive, and inclusive.
Allen Lab Fellow Spotlight: City Charters Are Deliberative Democracy’s Friends
Allen Lab Fellow Tyler Fisher examines the untapped potential of city charters as a vehicle for deliberative democracy, arguing that advocates should work to embed tools like citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting, and town meetings directly into the governing architecture of cities, institutionalizing deliberative democracy one municipality at a time.
Work in the Age of AI: Reflections from After Neoliberalism
Allen Lab member Charlie Covit reflects on the After Neoliberalism conference and examines the intersection of artificial intelligence and the future of work, arguing that AI forces a democratic reckoning with the meaning of labor itself and that an economy which generates abundance while stripping citizens of purpose and dignity undermines the very foundation of democratic life.
