🆕 Do protests work? Why political alignment determines economic redistribution Today on VoxDev w/ Belinda Archibong (Johns Hopkins University), Chinemelu Okafor (Harvard University ), Evans Osabuohien (Covenant University) & Tom Moerenhout (Columbia University): https://ow.ly/Sf3Y50Zg99M

Do protests work? Why political alignment determines economic redistribution

Evidence from Nigeria shows that protests can influence fiscal redistribution, but the manner and direction depend critically on the political relationship between disbursing governments and protesting regions.

ow.ly

Could frustration with billionaires and corporate power bring about a resurgence in American democracy? Taeku Lee believes it’s possible. current.fas.harvard.edu/stories/wake...

In wake of public outrage, professor sees hope for democracy

Could frustration with billionaires and corporate power bring about a resurgence in American democracy? Taeku Lee, who has studied corporate scandals and how the ensuing outrage can spur legislative c...

current.fas.harvard.edu

Congratulations to Andrew O’Donohue, who delivered the Graduate English Address at Harvard’s 375th Commencement last week. His fantastic oration defends the core values of universities and #democracies - we can’t wait to see what he does next.💫 buff.ly/2ErJkcL

Andrew O’Donohue Delivers the Graduate English Address | Harvard Commencement 2026

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

buff.ly

We are pleased to celebrate the remarkable achievements of our #seniorthesis writers, with this year’s award-winning original #scholarship exemplifying the breadth, rigor, and public relevance of undergraduate research in Government. buff.ly/cNt3WYv

Government Concentrators Earn Top Honors for Outstanding Senior Theses

The Department of Government is pleased to celebrate the remarkable achievements of our senior thesis writers. This year’s award-winning original scholarship exemplifies the breadth, rigor, and public...

buff.ly

In the latest edition of Perspectives on Politics, Stephen Ansolabehere examines whether Congress reflects the will of the people, using CCES data on public opinion vs. outcomes for 103 major issues (2006–2022). politicalsciencenow.com/collective-r...

Collective Representation in Congress -

Collective Representation in Congress By Stephen Ansolabehere, Harvard University and Shiro Kuriwaki, Yale University The aspiration of representative democracy is that the legislature will make decisions that reflect what the majority of people want. The [...]

politicalsciencenow.com

Congratulations to Mitsuru Mukaigawara, who has been selected as the 2026–27 Harvard Radcliffe Institute Arleen Carlson and Edna Nelson Graduate Fellow, where he will work on a book project that investigates disease epidemics and armed conflict 👏 www.gov.harvard.edu/2026/05/18/m...

Mitsuru Mukaigawara Named Radcliffe Fellow for 2026-27

The Department of Government is pleased to announce that Mitsuru Mukaigawara, a Ph.D. candidate in Government, has been selected as the 2026–27 Arleen Carlson and Edna Nelson Graduate Fellow at the Ha...

gov.harvard.edu

Congratulations to Daniel Carpenter, who has been named a Harvard College Professor – one of the University’s highest honors for excellence in undergraduate #teaching and #mentoring 👏 buff.ly/EefT2mw

Daniel Carpenter Named Harvard College Professor

Daniel Carpenter, Allie S. Freed Professor of Government and chair of the Department of Government, has been named a Harvard College Professor – one of the University’s highest honors for excellence i...

buff.ly

Congratulations to @rochellesun.bsky.social & @juliosolis.bsky.social on receiving 2 competitive grants from J-PAL’s Crime and Violence Initiative & IPA’s Peace and Recovery Initiative to support new research on governance, violence, and political leadership in Haiti 👏 Read our Q&A: buff.ly/QwBFx5K

Congratulations to Peter Hall on two major international distinctions 👏 he has been selected as a 2026–27 Berlin Prize Fellow at the American Academy in Berlin and elected a member of the Academia Europaea buff.ly/JPaj73s

Peter A. Hall Named Berlin Prize Fellow and Elected to Academia Europaea

Congratulations to Peter A. Hall, Krupp Foundation Professor of European Studies, on two major international distinctions recognizing his contributions to comparative politics and political economy. H...

buff.ly

Daniel Lowery, alongside Jeffry Frieden and Richard Grossman, has published a paper in The Economic History Review. It investigates how #Reconstruction affected Black socio-economic advancement after the American Civil War. buff.ly/NT3NvFH

Our 2026 Undergraduate Poster Event, held April 30 in the CGIS South Concourse, featured 44 #seniorthesis and #capstone projects. Topics ranged from bipartisanship in U.S. state legislatures and U.S.-Vietnam relations to the hidden tax breaks driving up health costs.

Congrats to Rochelle Sun (@rochellesun.bsky.social), who was awarded a competitive research grant from the JPAL Crime and Violence Initiative (@j-pal.bsky.social) to support her dissertation on #violence against #healthcare providers in contemporary civil conflicts. Read our Q&A ⬇️ buff.ly/iItYEIV

J-PAL Crime and Violence Initiative backs dissertation research by Ph.D. Candidate Rochelle Sun

The Department of Government is pleased to congratulate Ph.D. Candidate Rochelle Sun, who has been awarded a highly competitive research grant from J-PAL’s Crime and Violence Initiative to support her...

buff.ly

Steven Levitsky, David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Government, is among the 252 new members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. buff.ly/1hNu1sG

Eight faculty elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Eight Harvard faculty are among the 252 new members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the academy announced on Wednesday.

buff.ly

Political Theory Ph.D. Candidate Juliette Marchant (@juliettemarchant.bsky.social) is building an alternative kind of archive. Her Place in Theory (@herplacepod.bsky.social) spotlights different women, bringing their influence and often-overlooked legacies into focus. buff.ly/yoewlL3

Ph.D. Candidate Juliette Marchant on her podcast Her Place in Theory

Harvard Government Ph.D. candidate Juliette Marchant is building an alternative kind of archive. Through her podcast, Her Place in Theory, she spotlights different women – past and present – whose ide...

buff.ly

Last week Professor Kosuke Imai presented at the Department Horizons of Political Science Dinner, discussing #redistricting as a major policy problem, how we can use data and algorithms to evaluate redistricting plans, and the technological solution to detecting #gerrymandering.

Congratulations to Chinemelu Okafor, recipient of the @weatherheadcenter.bsky.social Dissertation Writing Grant. 👏 The funding will enable her to travel to Nigeria to conduct research that will serve as the foundation for the first chapter of her dissertation. #GovGrads buff.ly/8ohbnJ8

Chinemelu Okafor awarded Weatherhead Center Dissertation Writing Grant

The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs has awarded Government Ph.D. Candidate Chinemelu Okafor its prestigious Dissertation Writing Grant for next semester. The grant is designed to release ...

buff.ly

Congratulations to Professor Daniel Ziblatt (@dziblatt.bsky.social) on being named a 2026 Guggenheim Fellow! This prestigious award recognizes his outstanding contributions to the study of democracy and political institutions. #HarvardGov #AcademicExcellence buff.ly/EsCWxxT

Six faculty named 2026 Guggenheim Fellows

A total of six faculty were awarded Guggenheim Fellowships this week, drawing financial support for research related to everything from political theory to works of historical fiction.

buff.ly

The annual Graduate Poster Session, an integral part of our grad admit visit, gives Ph.D. candidates a chance to share research and get feedback. Congrats to this year’s winners: 🏆 Best Poster: Noah Dasanaike 🏆 Runner-up: Zehua Li 🏆 Audience Choice: Gabriela Armani #HarvardGov #AcademicResearch

Stephen Ansolabehere has been profiled on Veritalk, describing his research on U.S. #elections, #publicopinion, and #energypolitics, identifying four major demographic groups that align strongly with political parties, alongside a broader “mosaic middle.” youtu.be/rv-GppSz5qg?...

Veritalk: Steve Ansolabehere on elections, public opinion, and identity politics

YouTube video by Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences

youtu.be

Taeku Lee and co-author Pepper Culpepper joined The Niskanen Center’s Science of Politics podcast to discuss their new book "Billionaire Backlash" and how corporate scandals can spur democratic reform. www.niskanencenter.org/can-corporat...

Can corporate scandals reinvigorate democracy? - Niskanen Center

Pepper Culpepper and Taeku Lee find that corporate scandals can often mobilize the public and wider interests to overcome big business power, including after the financial crisis.

buff.ly

New Harvard/MIT poll, led by Stephen Ansolabehere, finds opposition to #datacenters isn’t mainly about electricity prices - it’s driven more by worries over how these massive projects could reshape local #communities. buff.ly/X6WGGjT

Exclusive poll: Here are the concerns about data centers

It's not just about the electricity prices.

buff.ly

Congratulations to Professor Katrina Forrester, recipient of the Everett I. Mendelsohn Excellence in Mentoring Award from Harvard Griffin GSAS for her extraordinary support of graduate students 👏 gsas.harvard.edu/news/celebra...

Celebrating Outstanding Mentors: The 2026 Everett I. Mendelsohn Excellence in Mentoring Award Ceremony

Faculty, students, and administrators came together in Lehman Hall on March 26, 2026, to honor mentors who have made a profound impact on the scholars and scientists they serve.

gsas.harvard.edu

"Even when courts are independent of the government, the judiciary’s behavior frequently undermines democracy." Read Andrew O’Donohue's essay in the Journal of Democracy (@jodemocracy.bsky.social) 👇 www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/how...

How Courts Undermine Democracy | Journal of Democracy

The judiciary is widely assumed to defend democracy. Yet in reality, even when independent of elected governments, courts can endanger democracy—sometimes by enabling executives and sometimes by…

journalofdemocracy.org

A Between The Lines (@btlradionews.bsky.social) interview with Steven Levitsky (@stevelevitsky.bsky.social) warns that Trump’s authoritarian regime is targeting the 2026 midterm elections through gerrymandering, voter suppression, and election subversion tactics. btlonline.org/trumps-autho...

Trump’s Authoritarian Regime’s Next Target: The 2026 Midterm Election

How Democracies Die author and Harvard professor Steven Levitsky assesses Trump’s authoritarian regime’s next target: the 2026 midterm election and its impact on democracy and civil rights

btlonline.org

Ph.D. Candidate Joaquim Meira has been awarded the @gsas.harvard.edu Lee Whittinghill Samuelson Traveling Fellowship for the 2026–2027 academic year. 👏 #HarvardGov #GovGrads www.gov.harvard.edu/2026/03/16/j...

Joaquim Meira receives Samuelson Traveling Fellowship for yearlong research abroad

Harvard Government Ph.D. Candidate Joaquim Meira has been awarded the Lee Whittinghill Samuelson Traveling Fellowship for the 2026–2027 academic year. The Samuelson Fellowship supports graduate studen...

gov.harvard.edu

Connie Chen has co-authored a new GIS-based study on post-wildfire Maui, identifying priority relocation sites by integrating hazard risks, community and economic ties, and zoning to guide resilient, conflict-aware urban growth. ➡️ buff.ly/gRP46Mv

A multi-scenario suitability framework for relocation planning: the case of post-wildfire Maui

Maui Island experienced a devastating wildfire in August 2023. Given the continued displacement in 2025 and growing threats from climate-related hazar…

buff.ly

This Wednesday (3/18) at 7pm, Taeku Lee (@taekulee.bsky.social) and Pepper Culpepper will be discussing their new book 'Billionaire Backlash: The Age of Corporate Scandal and How it Could Save Democracy' at @harvardbookstore.bsky.social ➡️ www.harvard.com/event/culpep...

Ph.D. Candidate Chinemelu Okafor has published her first working paper, titled Protest Matters: The Effects of Protests on Economic Redistribution, in NBER www.nber.org/papers/w34787 #GovGrads

Protest Matters: The Effects of Protests on Economic Redistribution

Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

nber.org

Ever wondered who the first woman to receive tenure in @harvardgovdept.bsky.social was? Well… it was none other than Judith Shklar! Find out more about her life and ideas in the latest episode of @herplacepod.bsky.social! #politicaltheory #judithshklar #harvard #liberalism

Her Place in Theory@herplacepod.bsky.social · 5mo ago

@juliettemarchant.bsky.social chats with Bernard Yack about the sharp, skeptical, and endlessly relevant Judith Shklar. From the “liberalism of fear” to her reflections on injustice, Shklar shows how political theory can be both profound and deeply humane. open.spotify.com/episode/20hn...

#GovGrad Max Kuhelj Bugaric has published an article in Journal of the History of International Law / Revue d'histoire du droit international, titled 'Papal Jurisdiction and War as Judgment under the ius gentium' brill.com/view/journal...