Video
At a time when many are rightly concerned about the health of American democracy, scholars and reformers are evaluating proposals to make democracy more functional and representative. One such proposal is to move beyond the winner-take-all electoral system used at the federal and state levels in the United States to enable adoption of proportional voting systems. What would be the impact of proportional voting in the United States, and what will it take to enact it?
Join panelists Rob Richie, President and CEO of FairVote, Rebecca Chavez-Houck, Community Engagement Consultant and Former Utah State Legislator, and Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University in discussion. Archon Fung, Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government at Harvard Kennedy School, Director of the Ash Center’s Democratic Governance Programs, moderated.
Media Release
The new initiative brings together scholars, sports leaders, and civic organizations to explore how sports can strengthen American democracy.
Podcast
For decades, racial appeals in American politics were most effective when they could be denied. Today, that carefully maintained distance between coded language and explicit hostility is rapidly eroding. In this episode, Saladin Ambar joins Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to examine what this transformation reveals about American politics and democracy.
Policy Brief
In a new policy brief, Tova Wang, Director of Research Projects in Democratic Practice at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and coauthors, explore how unions help members become more engaged in civic and political life.
Commentary
Allen Lab Fellow Tyler Fisher examines the untapped potential of city charters as a vehicle for deliberative democracy, arguing that advocates should work to embed tools like citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting, and town meetings directly into the governing architecture of cities, institutionalizing deliberative democracy one municipality at a time.
Feature
Books, reports, and articles exploring the front lines of American politics and democracy, as featured on the Terms of Engagement podcast.
Feature
Tova Wang, director of research projects in democratic practice at the Ash Center, shares her top picks for summer reads focused on making democracy more resilient, responsive, and inclusive.