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Research & Resources

Through our books, case studies, journal articles, papers, and surveys, the Ash Center is home to some of the world’s most advanced research and publications on issues related to democratic governance and self-governance.

To explore all research authored by Ash Center faculty, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School website. You can view the Ash Center’s open access policy here.

Additional Resource

Self-Evident Truths: The 250-Year Pursuit of Human Rights in the United States of America

Published as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights’ essay collection “Self-Evident Truths” gathers faculty and fellows across Harvard’s schools including the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, to examine how well America has fulfilled its promise that all people are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights.

The included essays span democracy, technology, public health, immigration, climate, and more, providing a nuanced look at what is required to fully realize the nation’s founding ideals today.

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Self-Evident Truths: The 250-Year Pursuit of Human Rights in the United States of America

Additional Resource

Self-Evident Truths: The 250-Year Pursuit of Human Rights in the United States of America

Published as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights’ essay collection “Self-Evident Truths” gathers faculty and fellows across Harvard’s schools including the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, to examine how well America has fulfilled its promise that all people are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights.

The included essays span democracy, technology, public health, immigration, climate, and more, providing a nuanced look at what is required to fully realize the nation’s founding ideals today.

Working Together to Strengthen US Elections
A 'Vote Here' sign on the side of a road.

Working Together to Strengthen US Elections

As state and local election officials navigate complex problems, what practical solutions can strengthen their work today and equip them for the challenges ahead? A recent piece in electionline Weekly highlights the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation’s Executive Session on Elections and Election Administration, bringing together a small, bipartisan group of state and local election officials, academics, and experts to develop innovative strategies for addressing the most pressing challenges in election administration.

Building Capacity to Use Social Media: How Election Officials Can Leverage Content Creation to Provide Accurate Voter Information
A content creator with a microphone.

Paper

Building Capacity to Use Social Media: How Election Officials Can Leverage Content Creation to Provide Accurate Voter Information

As traditional news declines, content creators play a growing role as information sources. This paper proposes frameworks for effective collaboration between creators and election officials and offers recommendations for officials to develop their own social media content.

Who’s in Charge of Congressional Elections?
U.S. Capitol Building.

Additional Resource

Who’s in Charge of Congressional Elections?

This resource provides accessible, reliable information on constitutional history and the roles and responsibilities involved in administering congressional elections in the United States, with the goal of advancing civic understanding among government officials, media, civic organizations, and the American public.

Paradise Revisited
Firefighters putting out a forest fire with hoses.

Policy Brief

Paradise Revisited

Technology has enriched the lives of Americans with novel communication choices. It has also made it more difficult to reach everyone in emergencies. In a new policy brief, Mary W. Graham, senior fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, explores this new paradox of the digital transition.

The Disproportionate Burden: Health and Economic Outcomes of COVID-19 for Native American Communities
A woman wearing a face mask during COVID-19.

Article

The Disproportionate Burden: Health and Economic Outcomes of COVID-19 for Native American Communities

A new research article by Randy Akee, Julie Johnson Kidd Professor of Indigenous Governance and Development and Director of the Project on Indigenous Governance and Development, and co-authors examines enduring consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic among American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) populations.

Artificial Intelligence and Democracy: Campaigns, Elections, Movements, and Deliberation
The U.S. Capitol with a digital grid overlay.

Article

Artificial Intelligence and Democracy: Campaigns, Elections, Movements, and Deliberation

A new chapter in APSA Preprints by Archon Fung, Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government and Director of the Ash Center, Bailey Flanigan, former postdoctoral fellow at the Ash Center and co-authors explores how generative AI is reshaping four dimensions of democratic practice—political campaigns, election administration, social movements, and citizen deliberation. The authors argue that AI’s ultimate democratic impact will depend less on the technology itself, and more on how institutions and leaders implement and regulate it.

Immigrant Earnings Assimilation, 1981–2021
A photo of an immigration sign in an airport.

Article

Immigrant Earnings Assimilation, 1981–2021

A new paper in the Congressional Budget Office’s Working Paper Series, authored by Randall Akee—Director of the Project on Indigenous Governance and Development and Julie Johnson Kidd Professor at Harvard Kennedy School—along with his co-authors, draws on long-term administrative data to examine how immigrant workers’ earnings in the United States evolved between 1981 and 2021.