Democracy and Institutions

A potential Harris-Walz administration must make substantive commitments to address the harms of the War on Terror, beginning with human rights abuses committed in the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp.

This is the second article in the series “America in the Age of Polarization”, where Emil Bender Lassen drives 9,000 miles around the US to speak to journalists, researchers and voters on an election that threatens to further divide the country. He hopes to better understand the rising trend in polarization, how it impacts the role of journalists – and maybe even uncover ways the trend could be reversed.

This is the first article in the series “America in the Age of Polarization”, where Emil Bender Lassen (MPP ’25) drives 9,000 miles around the US to interview journalists, researchers and voters on the election that threatens to further divide this country. He hopes to better understand the rising trend in polarization, how it impacts the role of journalists – and maybe even uncover some ways this trend could be reversed.

Proposed government solutions to mitigating the effects of climate change have systematically excluded the people it effects the most. A solution that centers climate changes’ effect on people must better acknowledge the historical harm that has been done for real restoration to occur.

While qualified immunity is invoked sparingly, its existence provides breathing room for public officials, particularly law enforcement officers to do their jobs effectively.

The Comstock Act is a significant impediment to reproductive freedom and access to safe, effective abortions. Pro-choice stakeholders must recognize the urgency of addressing this outdated legislation that uses 1800s social standards to regulate the bodies of people in 2024.

As inequality rises because of the combined curse of growing inherited wealth and the perpetuation of the generational transmission of poverty, baby bonds appear to be a powerful tool to tackle one of the major challenges of the 21st century.

With evolving workforce demands, the expectations from India’s education systems have expanded beyond achieving universal enrollment and basic literacy and numeracy. It now needs to equip students with 21st-century skills.

We need a system that protects minorities from being victims of unpunished crime and from criminalization. We must become a society that no longer takes skin color as a reason to justify the unjustifiable.

Women in high-level positions can offer unique perspectives based on their diverse experiences. A more diverse Foreign Service that reflects Kazakhstan will result in enhanced policymaking, reporting, and analysis.

Amidst the vast societal machinery that sustains India, sanitation workers operate as the unrecognized cogs essential to the public health system, yet they remain largely invisible within policy frameworks and legislative agendas.

The idea of a service year for young Americans has been floated around for decades but with no substantive action. A definitive first step to push young Americans in a year of service starts with encouraging colleges to require them before matriculation or to weigh the experience heavily in admissions decisions.