Danielle Allen
Professor of Public Policy, James Bryant Conant University Professor
Democratic Reform
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
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
Video
Book Talk: We Own the Future — Democratic Socialism, American Style
The Ash Center hosted a discussion with Peter Dreier, co-editor of We Own the Future: Democratic Socialism—American Style. Archon Fung, Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government, will moderate.
Video
Can We Break Out of the Two-Party Doom Loop?
In this talk, Drutman and Archon Fung, Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government, discussed our two-party system and potential strategies for a critical, non-incremental move away from our dysfunctional “politics as usual.”
Policy Brief
The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission: One State’s Model for Reform
Feature
Getting to 80%, Ash Sets a Challenge for Increased Voter Participation
Additional Resource
Getting to Eighty Percent: A Symposium Advancing Voter Participation
Feature
Beyond Oil: Charles Data Alemi MPA/ID ’15 Works to Increase Tax Revenue in South Sudan
Communique Magazine
Communiqué: Free and Fair Elections in Post-Soviet Armenia
Communiqué: Fall 2012, Volume 11
Book