Archon Fung
Director, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation;
Co-Director of the Program on Democracy and the Informed Public;
Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government
Reimagining Democracy Program
Reimagining our political institutions to meet the democratic challenges of today.
Related Programs
Related Topics
Institutional Reforms, Electoral College, Civic Engagement, Multiracial Democracy, Sports and Civic Participation
To confront the growing challenges to democracy around the world, it’s time for new ideas.
Democracy requires deep and structural changes to survive and grow. The Ash Center’s Reimagining Democracy Program provides scholars and those on the frontlines of our democracy with a space for generating ambitious ideas and practices to make democracy more resilient, responsive, and inclusive.
Meet the Team
Tova Wang
Director of Research Projects in Democratic Practice
Christina Marchand
Senior Associate Director, Center-wide Democracy Initiatives
Jose Martinez
Program Manager
Jahaida Hernández Jesurum
Program Administrator
Jessica Creighton
Program Director
Mark Seah
Assistant Director
The Latest News and Research
Podcast
Terms of Engagement – How did the Democrats Lose Silicon Valley? Should They Try to Get it Back?
The relationship between Silicon Valley and the Democratic Party has undergone a dramatic shift over the past decade, with many tech leaders moving away from their once-strong political alignment. This special episode of Terms of Engagement explores what drove that change and what it means for the future of democracy, political power, and the influence of technology elites.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement – Sedition, Partisanship, and the Future of American Justice
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Edwards, who was a leading prosecutor in the case of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, joins Terms of Engagement to discuss the Trump Administration’s move to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys and what it means for the future of the Department of Justice and the rule of law.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement – American Birthright: The Constitution, Citizenship, and Immigration
Penn University Professor Emeritus Rogers Smith joins Terms of Engagement hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to discusses birthright citizenship, an American institution enshrined in the Constitution but increasingly under scrutiny from President Trump and his allies.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement – Navigating Unprecedented Politics: A Conversation with Kevin McCarthy
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy joins hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to share his experience leading through some of the most intense political challenges in recent memory and his thoughts on the future of American democracy.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement – Behind a Bipartisan Bid to Protect Election Integrity
GOP lawyer Ben Ginsberg has launched a new initiative, the Bipartisan American Election Project, with former Obama White House counsel Bob Bauer to oppose efforts by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress to impose new rules on election administration.
Commentary
Before the Civil Rights Act, My Great-Uncle from Roxbury Took on Pullman in 1954 — and Won
As we commemorate 100 years of Black History Month, it is worth remembering that progress was not driven by headlines alone. Beyond the monuments and courtrooms, everyday people took risks to demand dignity and fairness. Among them was my great uncle, whose pursuit of a promotion became a catalyst for change.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement – Can Ideological Diversity Improve Campus Culture?
Professor Eitan Hersh, the inaugural director for Tufts University’s new Center for Expanding Viewpoints in Higher Education, wants create a new campus atmosphere of “robust intellectual life, where norms of curiosity and goodwill reign.”
Podcast
Terms of Engagement – Trump and His Billionaire Allies Make their Move on the Media
Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center director and former TIME editor Nancy Gibbs joins co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to discuss the impacts of billionaire media consolidation and pressure from the Trump administration on the flow of information vital to democracy.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement – The Bombs to Ballots Fantasy: Can the Iran War Lead to Democracy?
Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellow and Boston College Associate Professor Ali Kadivar joins Terms of Engagement hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to discuss the prospects for democracy in Iran now that the country is at war with the U.S. and Israel.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement—What If Millennials and Gen Z Leaders Replaced the Gerontocracy?
Amanda Litman, the president and founder of Run for Something, joins co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to talk about why she believes democracy needs a generational makeover.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement—How Does Our Civil Rights History Shape the Future of American Democracy?
Archon Fung and Stephen Richer invite Harvard Kennedy School Professor and civil rights advocate Cornell William Brooks to assess the evolution of America’s historical narrative and what implications history has on our contemporary political context.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement— Preparing for the Election Meltdown … Or Not
Co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer weigh conflicting predictions for the 2026 midterms and explore how to safeguard a free and fair election.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement—Inside Trump’s White House
White House reporter Annie Linskey offers a closer look at how the Trump White House makes decisions and what recent actions reveal about its strategy.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement—So, Is It Fascism?
Jonathan Rauch joins the podcast to discuss why he now believes “fascism” accurately describes Trump’s governing style.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement—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.