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In new paper, Danielle Allen explores how higher ed can play a role in promoting the health of our democracy.
“Civic education and engagement in our universities — educating toward self-government and engaged citizenship — could use a major reset,” notes Danielle Allen along with John Bridgeland and Cecilia Muñoz in a recently published article. Bridgeland and Muñoz, served as senior White House domestic policy advisors in the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, respectively.
Across the nation, surveys show that trust in one another and key institutions, such as government, media, and the courts, has reached historic lows. At the same time, political polarization among Americans has escalated rapidly over the past 40 years, while participation in large-scale civic institutions and volunteering rates have declined. Higher education offers a path forward – it can prepare young people to participate in democratic processes and, ultimately, change the country’s direction.
Colleges and universities have a critical role to play in enabling students to have vigorous and contentious debates about a whole range of issues while engaging in civil discourse that respects students who may hold different views![Headshot of Danielle Allen]()
Danielle Allen
James Bryant Conant University Professor
While higher education cannot address every civic challenge, it plays a pivotal role in fostering civic education and engagement. “Civic learning in college can and should help democracy rebuild and renew our capacity to work together to form a “more perfect union,” a durable goal for our constitutional republic,” Allen, Bridgeland and Muñoz write in their article published in Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning.
With a majority of high school graduates transitioning directly to college, and millions more eventually enrolling, there is a pressing need to enhance civic participation and democratic learning in higher education, the authors argue. Several key strategies emerge, starting with implementing mandatory civic curricula with a focus on building foundational civic knowledge and the skills and dispositions needed to support constitutional democracy. Colleges and universities can also incentivize civic engagement through civic seals on diplomas in recognition of community service, experiential learning, and other civic contributions. Further, schools can advocate for policies that support a year of national service.
Institutions should encourage an environment of robust civil discourse. “Colleges and universities have a critical role to play in enabling students to have vigorous and contentious debates about a whole range of issues while engaging in civil discourse that respects students who may hold different views,” Allen and her co-authors urge.
Just as the world rallied behind sustainable development goals, the paper makes the case that colleges and universities can advance the goals of More Perfect, a national initiative to advance five democracy goals: universal civic learning, national service and volunteering, bridging divides, trusted elections and representative and responsible governance, and access to trusted news and information.
Ultimately, “the best ideas are likely to emerge from colleges and universities themselves in all of their wonderful diversity—public, private, independent, community, technical, historically black, Hispanic-serving, and tribal colleges and universities, and within the many associations and networks that represent them.” The authors propose holding an annual summit among college leaders to highlight innovations in higher education that foster democratic renewal and to facilitate knowledge-sharing and promote scalability at other institutions. “As our colleges and universities continue to play such central roles in educating and engaging generations of Americans, we can inspire students to understand our democracy and their vital role in it.”
Commentary
At a conference earlier this month, Professor Danielle Allen argued that what we are seeing with DOGE is the real time implementation of an extreme ideological vision of the role that technology and a small cohort of its wealthiest leaders should have in the world.
Commentary
Open Access Resource
This paper aims to provide a roadmap for governing AI. In contrast to the reigning paradigms, we argue that AI governance should be not merely a reactive, punitive, status-quo-defending enterprise, but rather the expression of an expansive, proactive vision for technology—to advance human flourishing.
Commentary
A recent panel discussion explored global patterns of democratic backsliding, focusing on the experiences of Venezuela, Thailand, and the United States. Moderated by Archon Fung, director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, the conversation shared insights into how democratically elected leaders systematically erode checks and balances to consolidate power. The panelists highlighted common tactics of democratic erosion, and also strategies for safeguarding democracy.
Commentary
In his latest article for The Conversation, Archon Fung defines “conflicts of interest,” highlights their risks to good governance, and outlines strategies to mitigate their impact.
Feature
In response to the recent anti-democratic patterns in the United States, the Ash Center hosted a panel of Harvard scholars to discuss how civil society can resist democratic backsliding through social mobilization and organizing.
