Q+A
In what ways does Inauguration Day 2025 symbolize the resilience or fragility of American democracy?
On January 20, 2025, as Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, the nation reached a critical turning point.
News and Analysis
Read the latest news, commentary, and analysis from the Ash Center.
Newest
Commentary
Crowd Counting Consortium: Three Things the Pro-Palestine Movement Is Not
New Crowd Counting Consortium analysis from Nonviolent Action Lab Program Director Jay Ulfelder sets the record straight on arrests numbers and claims of violence stemming from protests sparked by the war in Gaza.
Commentary
Campus Protests and Police Force: An Ethical Framework
In a new essay, Archon Fung looks at this current wave of campus protests and asks if civil disobedience is permissible, and how much disruption should be tolerated at universities today.
Feature
From City Hall to the streets of Boston, Maya Alper MPP’24 highlights service delivery’s role in promoting democracy
By taking a new approach to its digital service delivery methods, Alper believes that Boston can harness democratic innovations to help heal the wounds left by the city’s legacy of racism and disinvestment.
Feature
Warding off new attempts to steal an election
At the Ash Center, Lawrence Lessig, Matthew Seligman, and Ian Bassin discuss the looming threats to our next presidential election.
Video
Book Talk: How to Steal A Presidential Election
On April 30, the Ash Center hosted a book talk with Lawrence Lessig and Matt Seligman, authors of How to Steal a Presidential Election (Yale, 2024). The discussion was moderated by Ian Bassin, co-founder and Executive Director of Protect Democracy.
Podcast
Episode Two: 1,300 Days of BLM Demonstrations in Wooster, Ohio
In the second episode of the Nonviolent Action Lab Podcast, Désirée Weber describes what 1,300 days of protest and political pressure looked like in Wooster, Ohio in 2020
Podcast
Episode One: Meet the Nonviolent Action Lab
Host Jay Ulfelder sits down with Professor Erica Chenoweth for the first episode in the new podcast series.
Video
A Conversation with Ava DuVernay: Resistance, Storytelling, and Film
Professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad was joined by Oscar-nominated filmmaker and screenwriter Ava DuVernay in JFK Jr. Forum
Feature
Moving beyond the Electoral College
At an Ash Center symposium on Electoral College reform, Congressman Jamie Raskin makes the case that the US should finally move to a direct popular vote for selecting presidential winners.