Article
The Resistance Reaches into Trump Country
As organizers for No Kings 2 seek historic turnout on October 18, the broader pro-democracy movement has already broken new ground.
Occasional Paper
In this report, Erica Chenoweth summarizes a December 2024 workshop on the specific issue of AI adoption within democracy movements and offers some key recommendations.
In recent years, democracy movements have experienced a historic decline in their ability to challenge autocratic governments effectively. This decline is due, at least in part, to the changing technology landscape, which has allowed autocratic governments to monopolize the advantages of breakthrough technologies to strengthen their power. The relatively slow adoption of AI tools by democracy movements may be widening the gulf between these movements and their adversaries—a gap that may grow even larger if movements do not integrate these technologies now. To explore these issues, we convened a workshop in December 2024. This report summarizes the proceedings and offers several recommendations based on the discussion.
Article
As organizers for No Kings 2 seek historic turnout on October 18, the broader pro-democracy movement has already broken new ground.
Commentary
Commentary
The historic number of No Kings Day protesters and their expansive geographic spread are signs of a growing and durable pro-democracy movement. This article was originally published in Waging Nonviolence.
Podcast
Archon Fung and Stephen Richer are joined by University of Pittsburgh’s Lara Putnam to discuss the recent No Kings protest movement.
Additional Resource
Creating a healthy digital civic infrastructure ecosystem means not just deploying technology for the sake of efficiency, but thoughtfully designing tools built to enhance democratic engagement from connection to action.
Commentary
When former Vice President Mike Pence visited Harvard’s Institute of Politics for a discussion on “The Future of Conservatism and American Democracy,” he was introduced not just by a moderator, but by a longtime friend and admirer — Ash Center Senior Fellow Stephen Richer. A former Republican officeholder, Richer has often cited Pence as a personal role model for integrity and constitutional fidelity. Their friendship added a layer of warmth and sincerity to an evening that balanced deep ideological reflection with a spirit of civility and mutual respect.