Democracy and Institutions

BY NATALIA COTE-MUÑOZ, MEREDITH DAVIS, AND KRISTELL MILLÁN This piece was written by the Co-Chairs of the Harvard Kennedy School Latinx Caucus and can also be found on the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy blog here. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement that President Trump has decided to rescind DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, came […]

Paul LePage (R-ME) is America’s most conservative governor, and a reliable headline. For ten weeks this summer, he was also my boss. After years of talking the bipartisan talk, I was ready to walk the bipartisan walk as Maine’s inaugural Dukakis Fellow. Beyond building a résumé that joins Michael Dukakis (D-MA) and Paul LePage in […]

BY KATHERINE MANSTED Benjamin Clayton’s recent post is another outing in a long line of U.S. power pessimism, which history will ultimately prove wrong. The world has a penchant for predicting U.S. decline. Indeed, reports of U.S. decline predated its rise. Charles Dickens famously wrote that, to its 19th century citizens, America “always is stagnated, […]

Donald Trump achieved what many considered unthinkable. He is president of the United States, having won 304 Electoral College votes in the 2016 election. In addition, the Republican Party won majorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives. “Why did the electorate do what they did tonight?” Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager, posed […]

BY MATT MCDOLE The clatter of rocks on limestone brings our conversation to an abrupt halt as we dart for cover along the sides of the narrow street. Under the questionable protection of torn awnings, our group of Harvard graduate students resumes the journey into the heart of the medieval Palestinian City of Hebron. Overhead, nets and metal grates hang down, sagging under the weight of kitchen […]

He may be a political insider, but Hassan Rouhani ran his 2017 presidential campaign as an anti-establishment candidate. More than 40 million Iranians voted, and despite the close election President Rouhani won a second term in May with 57% of the votes. When the election results were announced, thousands of people spilled into the streets dancing, singing, […]

BY COLIN MURPHY In the United States, twenty-two million people work in government.[1] These people sweep our streets, educate our children, and protect our borders. So much of our quality of life depends on how well these employees and their teams are working. Government performance—the ability of the people and organizations within government to deliver […]

This piece was published in the 27th print volume of the Asian American Policy Review. Despite its dubious reputation, lobbying has evolved into a platform for minority interest groups to voice their concerns. By leveraging this “fourth branch of government,” racially affiliated minority interest groups directly appeal and advocate to members of Congress. Organizations like the […]

Turkey’s relationship with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is in trouble. Yet it behooves NATO to ensure that Turkey remains a loyal member.

Very rich, heavily armed states are engaged in brinkmanship in the world’s most conflict-prone region. This doesn’t end well – for anyone.

BY ANDREAS WESTGAARD As the 115th Congress continues to battle on issues like the Affordable Care Act, judicial nominations, and cabinet appointments, the media and partisans alike will hype the pervasive politics-as-blood-sport narrative. Diverging from that narrative, this piece focuses instead on what Republicans and Democrats could actually work on together. While bipartisan proposals will […]

BY BRYNNA QUILLIN For almost a month after Election Day 2016, the race between incumbent North Carolina Republican governor Pat McCrory and his Democratic rival Roy Cooper remained contested. The race was tight, with just over ten thousand votes separating the two candidates. In a desperate attempt to hang on, McCrory cried fraud. McCrory’s campaign […]