Danielle Allen
Professor of Public Policy, James Bryant Conant University Professor
Institutional Reforms
At the Ash Center, we’re working to generate new ideas to reform our democratic institutions for the 21st century.
Related Programs
Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, Reimagining Democracy Program
Many of our most basic democratic institutions, from the Electoral College to Congress itself, were born in the eighteenth century when American democracy and America looked markedly different than today. At the Ash Center, we’re working to modernize and reform these institutions for a healthy 21st-century democracy.
As political polarization continues to test the strength of even our most bedrock political institutions, the Ash Center brings together scholars, practitioners, and policymakers from across the country to discuss how to protect and modernize our democracy.
Through working groups and convenings, case studies, and research projects, the Ash Center is working to identify reforms both large and small that will help strengthen the future of American democracy for generations to come.
Meet the Experts
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner
Associate Professor of Public Policy
Archon Fung
Director, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation;
Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government
Larry Lessig
Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership
Stephen Richer
Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy, February 2025 - November 2025
Non-resident Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy, December 2025 - November 2026
Jane Mansbridge
Adams Professor of Political Leadership and Democratic Values Emerita
Tarek Masoud
Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Governance
Liz McKenna
Assistant Professor of Public Policy
Pippa Norris
Paul F. McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics
Ariel Procaccia
Alfred and Rebecca Lin Professor of Computer Science
Benjamin Schneer
Associate Professor of Public Policy
David Weil
Visiting Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School
Samuel F. and Rose B. Gingold Chair in Human Development and Professor of Economics,
School of Social Sciences and Social Policy, Brandeis University
Daniel Ziblatt
Eaton Professor of the Science of Government
Upcoming Events
Winning the Earthquake: How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman in Congress
In-Person Event
Ash Center Seminar Room 225, Suite 200, 124 Mount Auburn Street
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST
The Latest News, Research, and Resources
Feature
After Neoliberalism: From Left to Right – Day Two
The second day of After Neoliberalism: From Left to Right continued Day One’s conversations on emerging visions for the future of the political economy. A previous article covers Day One.
Feature
After Neoliberalism: From Left to Right – Day One
The first day of After Neoliberalism: From Left to Right brought together hundreds of leading thinkers to explore and debate emerging visions for the future of the political economy. A second article covers Day Two.
Article
Supply Skeptics or Abundance Acolytes? Mayoral Views on the Housing Crisis
Economists and policy analysts broadly agree that more housing needs to be built in order to reduce costs in America’s most expensive cities. Using a novel survey of mayors of mid-sized and large cities to explore mayors’ views on the roots of America’s housing crisis and what solutions they believe will most effectively address their constituents’ housing challenges, the authors summarize mayors’ attitudes and perceptions on key issues related to expanding the housing supply, reporting how well these views correlate with mayors’ assessments of their own cities’ supply needs.
Podcast
So, Is It Fascism?
Jonathan Rauch joins the podcast to discuss why he now believes “fascism” accurately describes Trump’s governing style.
Podcast
Beyond MAGA: What Trump’s Coalition Really Looks Like
Drawing on new data from more than 10,000 Trump voters, this episode of Terms of Engagement unpacks the diverse constituencies behind the MAGA label.
Podcast
Can Venezuela Still Reclaim Democracy?
As Venezuela grapples with authoritarian collapse and a controversial U.S. operation that removed Nicolás Maduro, Freddy Guevara joins the podcast to discuss what Venezuelans are feeling and what democratic renewal might actually look like.
Podcast
What Does January 6 Mean Five Years Later?
In the season 2 premiere of Terms of Engagement, Archon Fung and Stephen Richer revisit January 6 with journalist Mary Clare Jalonick to examine what the January 6 Capitol attack reveals about democratic trust, accountability, and political violence.
Podcast
What Does the MAGA New Right Think?
In the season finale, author and political theorist Laura Field joins co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to unpack the ideas and beliefs of the New Right and their impact on elections, race, and public debate.
Podcast
The Politics of the Epstein Files
Co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer unpack the latest developments in the Epstein saga and explore what they reveal about shifting political alignments, growing demands for accountability, and the relationship between power and public trust.
Podcast
Wait, Wait — What Happened?
Co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer look back at the last five months of headlines as they celebrate the twentieth episode of Terms of Engagement.
Podcast
Is America Ready to Vote by Phone?
Archon Fung and Stephen Richer are joined by Michelle Feldman, political director at Mobile Voting, a nonprofit, nonpartisan initiative working to make voting easier with expanded access to mobile voting.
Podcast
Is Trump’s higher education compact a bad deal but a good opportunity?
This week, Danielle Allen joins Archon Fung and Stephen Richer on Terms of Engagement.
Commentary
Why I’m Excited About the White House’s Proposal for a Higher Ed Compact
Last week’s leak of the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” drew intense reactions across academia. Critics call it government overreach threatening free expression, while supporters see a chance for reform and renewed trust between universities and policymakers. Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, director of the Democratic Knowledge Project and the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, weighs in.
Commentary
Setting the 2025-26 Agenda for the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
Amid rising illiberalism, Danielle Allen urges a new agenda to renew democracy by reorienting institutions, policymaking, and civil society around the intentional sharing of power.
Commentary
Ten ways to take down the political temperature
The intensification of political polarization in recent years has raised pressing concerns about the health of democratic discourse and the rise of political violence. Ash Center Senior Fellow Stephen Richer shares ten principles he believes provide a framework for fostering more constructive engagement: encouraging self-reflection, prioritizing substantive dialogue over hyperbole, and creating incentives that reward integrity and ideas rather than division.