Feature
Reimagining Democracy 2026 Summer Reading List
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.
News and Analysis
Read the latest news, commentary, and analysis from the Ash Center.
Newest
Feature
Navigating Democracy’s Next Chapter at the “Founding Futures” Conference
Ash Center Fellow Jon Alexander joined a diverse group of speakers at TED Democracy Philadelphia to share bold ideas for revitalizing modern democracy.
Feature
Reimagining Democracy 2026 Summer Reading List
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.
Feature
Democracy and the Informed Public 2026 Summer Reading List
Archon Fung, co-director of the Program on Democracy and the Informed Public, shares his top book recommendations for the summer.
Feature
Indigenous Governance 2026 Summer Reading List
What to read and listen to this summer from the Project on Indigenous Governance and Development team.
Feature
The Past, Present, and Future of Democracy—A Summer Reading List from the Allen Lab
As we celebrate America’s 250th, the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation is reflecting on how we arrived at this moment and where we are headed.
Commentary
Allen Lab Fellow Spotlight: City Charters Are Deliberative Democracy’s Friends
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.
Q+A
Danielle Allen’s “Radical Duke” Reveals an Unsung Catalyst of History
Allen uncovers the deep — then volatile — friendship between a British duke and Thomas Paine.
Commentary
Work in the Age of AI: Reflections from After Neoliberalism
Allen Lab member Charlie Covit reflects on the After Neoliberalism conference and examines the intersection of artificial intelligence and the future of work, arguing that AI forces a democratic reckoning with the meaning of labor itself and that an economy which generates abundance while stripping citizens of purpose and dignity undermines the very foundation of democratic life.
Video
What Democracy Means to Us: Reflections on America 250
Exploring Ash Center perspectives on the meaning of democracy, democratic participation and citizenship, and how democratic life might evolve over the next 250 years.