News and Analysis

Read the latest news, commentary, and analysis from the Ash Center.

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Feature

American Spring? How nonviolent protest in the US is accelerating

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the size and scale of anti-Trump protests this year have dwarfed those in 2017, and they have been extraordinarily peaceful. This article was originally published in Waging Nonviolence.

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Valerie Jarrett on the value of a vote + reaching Gen-Z
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Feature

Valerie Jarrett on the value of a vote + reaching Gen-Z

Board Chair of When We All Vote Valerie Jarret discusses voter engagement at a virtual Harvard Votes Challenge event on National Voter Registration Day

A Conversation with Valerie Jarrett on National Voter Registration Day

Video

A Conversation with Valerie Jarrett on National Voter Registration Day

The Harvard Votes Challenge celebrateed National Voter Registration Day with Valerie Jarrett, businesswoman, senior advisor to President Barack Obama, a board member at When We All Vote, and advocate for equality & justice.

Insights from Congressional and Tribal Leaders: Coronavirus Relief for American Indian Tribal Govt

Video

Insights from Congressional and Tribal Leaders: Coronavirus Relief for American Indian Tribal Govt

Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center and the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development hosted a diverse panel of Congressional and tribal leaders to look ahead and discuss how Congress might come together on a bipartisan basis to enhance support for Indian Country’s pandemic recovery efforts.

Election 2020: What Keeps You Up at Night?

Video

Election 2020: What Keeps You Up at Night?

The Ash Center hosted a discussion with three leading U.S. election practitioners – one litigator, one election official, and one national grassroots organizing leader – as we asked each of them a series of questions about their greatest fears around the voting process, their work to achieve a fully inclusive and well-administered election, and their ideas for the future of U.S. democracy.

Communiqué Fall 2020, Volume 25

Communique Magazine

Communiqué Fall 2020, Volume 25

This issue, our first-ever digital-only magazine, explores how the Ash Center has responded to both the COVID-19 pandemic and consequential presidential election. We feature the democracy programs work on increasing voter participation and a report recommending universal civic duty voting. We highlight Director Tony Saich’s latest book on a Dutch Communist named Henk Sneevliet and his role in sparking the communist revolution in China, and we also detail the stories of Ash Center students, alumni and fellows around the globe.

This is why we still have the Electoral College

Video

This is why we still have the Electoral College

The Electoral College is the system by which Americans elect their president every four years. When American voters go to the polls for a presidential election, they are actually voting for a slate of electors who have pledged to support a specific candidate. These electors cast their own votes, and the winner is elected to the presidency. Two hundred years ago, the Framers incorporated the Electoral College into the United States Constitution, and to this day it remains one of the most controversial aspects of that document. But despite numerous attempts to reform or even abolish it, the Electoral College remains the mechanism by which Americans choose their president every four years. So why is it still around? Alex Keyssar, Matthew W. Stirling, Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, explores this subject in his latest book, “Why Do We Still Have The Electoral College?”

The answer is not as straight forward as one might think, and in this video Professor Keyssar discusses the myriad reasons that we still follow with what he calls, “a process that does not conform to democratic principles the nation has publicly championed.”

Behind the Book is a collaboration between the Office of Communications and Public Affairs and Library and Knowledge Services at Harvard Kennedy School.

Getting Out the BIPOC Vote: Digital Strategies to Build Power

Video

Getting Out the BIPOC Vote: Digital Strategies to Build Power

The Ash Center hosted a timely discussion with leading practitioners who are effectively integrating digital strategies with authentic power-building while navigating a never-before-seen civic environment.

Saving Our Own Lives: Grassroots Responses to COVID-19 Around the Globe
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Video

Saving Our Own Lives: Grassroots Responses to COVID-19 Around the Globe

To what extent have these organizations proven better equipped to deal with the pandemic response, and what are the challenges that these associations face when organizing in the age of COVID-19? In addition, how can they seize this moment to turn their organizing into power and influence in political and economic life?

From Patients to Voters: Civic Engagement in Health Care

Video

From Patients to Voters: Civic Engagement in Health Care

The Ash Center and the Center for Public Leadership recognized Civic Health Month and hosted a discussion on how healthcare workers are deepening civic engagement through voter empowerment, including how high levels of civic engagement can drive more equitable health outcomes.