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David Gergen, a towering figure in U.S. politics and founder of the Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership, has died

David Gergen, a trusted adviser to four U.S. presidents who went on to play a pivotal role in shaping leadership education at Harvard Kennedy School, has died at the age of 83. Gergen was a dedicated ...
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Harvard professors’ newly published research reveals existing U.S. non-racial “reparatory compensation” programs demonstrate the feasibility of reparations for racial harms

The idea of reparations to Black Americans is not new. In 1793, formerly enslaved Belinda Royall petitioned the Massachusetts General Court for a pension from her enslaver. In 1865, a short-lived ...
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Is The AI Bubble Bursting? Lessons From The Dot-Com Era

August 21, 2025, Opinion: "One should be just as cautious about predicting the imminent burst of an AI bubble as skeptical of the exaggerated hype currently surrounding artificial intelligence. There ...
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PhD in Political Economy & Government

As of Fall 2022, the PhD in Political Economy and Government (PEG) will no longer be admitting students. Students may apply to the PhD Program in Public Policy (PPOL), or consider the PhD Programs in ...
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K-Anonymity: A Model for Protecting Privacy

See citation below for complete author information. Consider a data holder, such as a hospital or a bank, that has a privately held collection of person-specific, field structured data. Suppose the ...
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Sovereign Debt Restructuring with China at the Table: Forward Progress but Lost Decade Risk Remains

Sovereign debt restructuring deals have not been smooth sailing over the last few years. They have moved slowly, been marked by bickering between China and G7 stalwarts, and the outcomes have been ...
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Self-ratings and bias in performance reviews

Iris Bohnet, Oliver P. Hauser, Ariella S. Kristal. Can gender and race dynamics in performance appraisals be disrupted? The case of social influence. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, ...
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Soft power: the evolution of a concept

In this paper, I respond to the editors request that I look back on the concept of soft power that I first published in 1990. I describe my approach to power; explain the origins of the soft power ...
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Forging Consensus: Analyzing the Gap in U.S. Domestic Support to Defend Taiwan Against CCP Aggression

In mid-2023, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) published Independent Task Force Report No. 81: U.S.-Taiwan Relations in a New Era - Responding to a More Assertive China. The report was the output ...
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Explainer: What’s happening with gerrymandering in the United States—and who will “win” the redistricting battle?

American states traditionally redraw their congressional districts every 10 years. Recently, states have begun redrawing districts mid-cycle to give a political advantage to a particular party. Texas, ...
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Are we headed for a constitutional crisis? Kennedy School scholars on the Trump administration and the rule of law

The Trump administration’s first month included a slew of actions and statements that have postulated new legal theories and challenged existing norms. Through a flurry of executive orders, the White ...
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Explainer: Executive orders as a governing tool

American presidents have issued executive orders since George Washington was in office. Article Two of the Constitution gives the president the legal foundation to issue executive orders to provide ...