Archon Fung
Director, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation;
Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government
Reimagining Democracy Program
Reimagining our political institutions to meet the democratic challenges of today.
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
Senior Researcher in Democratic Practice
Upcoming Events
Ash Center Open House
In-Person Event
Ash Center Foyer, Suite 200, 124 Mount Auburn Street
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT
The Latest News and Research
Video
Problems at the Polls? Election Administration in the Midterms
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Institute of Politics, and HKS Black Alumni Association invited folks to watch a discussion with former West Virginia Secretary of State and current Institute of Politics Fellow Natalie Tennant, and Ash Center’s Tova Wang for a discussion on running an election in turbulent times.
Commentary
Who’s accountable for AI usage in digital campaign ads? Right now, no one.
In a new essay, Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders argue that AI is poised to dramatically ramp up digital campaigns and outline how accountability measures across platforms, government, and the media can curb risks.
Video
Book Talk – When Democracy Breaks
The Ash Center invites you to watch a book talk with contributors to When Democracy Breaks (Oxford, 2023), a new edited volume intended to deepen our understanding of what separates democratic resilience from democratic fragility — by focusing on the latter.
Media Release
In new discussion paper, Stephen Goldsmith and Ryan Streeter lay out a case for a new, more aspirational conservatism
In a recently published discussion paper from the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School, Stephen Goldsmith and Ryan Streeter propose a new ideological framework for the conservative movement in the United States centered around aspiration, opportunity, and personal responsibility to help drive upward mobility.
Commentary
Disclosure Dilemmas: AI Transparency is No Quick Fix
In a new essay, Mary Graham argues that transparency measures can help curtail AI-related risks but not overnight — transparency efforts require sustained, long-term engagement and effort.
Commentary
Re-imagining democracy for the 21st century, possibly without the trappings of the 18th century
Imagine that we’ve all – all of us, all of society – landed on some alien planet, and we have to form a government: clean slate. How would we govern ourselves?
Commentary
Can you trust AI? Here’s why you shouldn’t
In a new article for The Conversation, Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders highlight some of the reasons to feel skeptical towards AI.
Commentary
AI could shore up democracy – here’s one way
What if AI turns out to be the one tool able to identify what makes your ideas special, recognizing your unique perspective and potential on the issues where it matters most?
Feature
How will the Voting Rights Act ruling impact redistricting?
According to Kennedy School’s Benjamin Schneer, the decision that an Alabama congressional map illegally weakened the power of Black voters has implications beyond the southern state’s borders.
Feature
Is democracy in decline? Kennedy School professors voice optimism and concerns.
From polarization to populism, democracy is facing off against formidable foes and we need big ideas to save it says expert panel.
Commentary
How AI could take over elections – and undermine democracy
In a new article for the Conversation, Ash Center Director Archon Fung and Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig introduce Clogger, a hypothetical political campaign in a black box.
Q+A
Claims against nonpartisan voter record system are baseless says former West Virginia Secretary of State
Natalie Tennant discusses the impact of states leaving the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a resource for maintaining accurate voter records across state lines
Q+A
Does France’s pension reform controversy highlight the need for deliberative democracy?
French President Emmanuel Macron’s end run around parliament may be legally sound, but Ash Center Democracy Fellow Yves Sintomer argues the move was markedly anti-democratic.
Feature
Bruce Schneier Wants to Recreate Democracy
Arguing that American democracy has been hacked, the computer security expert doesn’t want to just fiddle on the margins when it comes to re-envisioning what a new 21st-century American democracy should look like.
Feature
Democracy on the Precipice?
Archon Fung on the threats to American democracy and what we can do about it.