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Archon Fung

@politicsprof.bsky.social
574 followers 504 following 278 posts

Director @harvardash@bsky.social. Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship, Harvard Kennedy School. I study participatory democracy. All views expressed here are my own.

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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I’m writing a bunch of external review and recommendation letters. I feel like kind of a sucker for drafting by hand (without AI). Though I do use AI to find errors and suggest additions.
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Be part of the solution, not the problem. Vdem academic freedom index.
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Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation @harvardash.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Matthew Cavedon, Director of the @cato.org’s Project on Criminal Justice, joins Terms of Engagement hosts @politicsprof.bsky.social and Stephen Richer to discuss the democratic and legal implications of Flock cameras. Watch the full episode here: ash.harvard.edu/resources/te...
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
MIT's Charles Stewart takes to task Census Bureau estimate on non-citizen voting. Long, but worth reading: playingwithelectiondata.substack.com/p/census-bur...
playingwithelectiondata.substack.com
Census Bureau Report Creates Confusion by Starting What It Can’t Finish
The report on noncitizen voting ignores the scholarship it cites and overstates what its matches show.
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Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation @harvardash.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
@amandacarpenter.bsky.social joins @politicsprof.bsky.social and Stephen Richer on Terms of Engagement to examine how political corruption undermines democratic institutions and public trust. Watch the full episode: ash.harvard.edu/resources/te...
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Is this what “abundance” looks like? www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/b...
nytimes.com
5 Things to Know About Meta’s Giant Data Center in Louisiana
The road to the giant project was paved with secret meetings and an ever-expanding building plan.
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Aeon Magazine @aeon.co · 14/07/2026
Tech billionaires like to claim their work is inspired by science fiction, but in truth, they are using its ‘chrome-plated aesthetic’ as a fig leaf to further what the social theorist Ali Rıza Taşkale labels ‘reactionary futurism’
buff.ly
Silicon Valley has a science fiction problem | Aeon Essays
Tech titans claim the genre inspired them. But all they’ve done is graft their politics onto stories of a better future
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Daniel Munro @dkmunro.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
“The future isn’t being shaped by democratic debate but through highly selective, often reactionary, fantasy… [Q]uestion isn’t whether science fiction will shape reality—that process is already underway. The question is: whose version will prevail?” Exceptional essay by @alirizataskale.bsky.social
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Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation @harvardash.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
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. bit.ly/4gDDfA4
bit.ly
Reimagining Democracy 2026 Summer Reading List – Ash Center
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Pew Research Center @pewresearch.org · 01/07/2026
32% of Democrats like political leaders who identify as democratic socialists. 56% of Democrats say they neither like nor dislike democratic socialists, who have won a number of recent Democratic primaries in D.C., New York and Colorado. #DemocraticSocialism #USPolitics #USDemocrats
Chart breaking down democrats who say they like or dislike a political leader who identifies as a democratic socialist by different demographics.

Text reads:
Democrats who are White, younger or college-educated are more likely to view democratic socialists positively 
Among dem/lean dem % who say they like or dislike a political leader who identifies as a democratic socialist
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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
And in fact I'm now catching up with a nearly simultaneous federal court ruling that the scheme is illegal, which includes an injunction against following through with it in 23 states plus D.C.
votebeat.org
Federal judge blocks Trump effort to restrict mail voting
Trump’s executive order threatened to upend mail voting in the 2026 midterms, but a court has blocked its major provisions from taking effect.
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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Lawless. The courts need to come down on this like a ton of bricks.
thehill.com
Postmaster general confirms plan to hold back mail ballots in states that won’t share voter data
Postmaster General David Steiner told lawmakers Wednesday that the U.S. Postal Service will no longer deliver mail-in ballots in states that refuse to provide sensitive voter data to the federal go…
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
My colleage @schneier.com argues for liability as a simple tool for AI regulation. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
If an AI chatbot misleads you, who is to blame? | Bruce Schneier and Nathan E Sanders
A court in Germany found that Google was responsible for what its chatbots say in search summaries. This is the accountability we need
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Great piece on organizing and the USGOV raids on the Ohio Organizing Collaborative from my colleague Liz McKenna www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/19/o...
bostonglobe.com
Protest doesn’t scare the Trump administration. Organizing does. - The Boston Globe
More than 100 federal agents descended on an Ohio group that does democracy’s slowest, most patient work. The target was not an accident.
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Pia Raffler @piaraffler.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
The other studies examined here are by @darinc.bsky.social, O. Dube, @johanneshaushofer.com, B. Siddiqi, M. Voors, J. Arkedis, J. Creighton, @akshaydixit.bsky.social, @politicsprof.bsky.social, S. Kosack, D. Levy, C. Tolmie, @profmohanan.bsky.social, V. Rajan, K. Swanson, and H. Thirumurthy.
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Pia Raffler @piaraffler.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Our findings, viewed along those of Björkmann & Svensson 2009, also underscore the importance of considering the generalizability of research findings not just across space, but in the same setting *over time*, especially during periods of rapid socio-economic change.
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Mathematicians worry that AI could break math. “… a handful of corporations are mobilizing their vast financial resources to impose an impoverished view of mathematics” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/s...
nytimes.com
As A.I. Makes Strides in Mathematics, Mathematicians Urge Caution
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Peter Levine @peterlevine.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
notes on the papal encyclical on AI: peterlevine.ws?p=35700
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Pepper Culpepper @pculpepper.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Can you believe in the importance of evidence-based public policy AND think that populism can be good for democracy? That's the question I debated with @politicsprof.bsky.social and Stephen Richer this week. The short answer, of course, is yes! The long answer is more rewarding to listen to.
youtube.com
Sinking Yachts: Can a Billionaire Backlash Save Democracy?
YouTube video by Harvard Ash Center
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
How can democracies get billionaires under control? Join us Tues 12.15pm ET to find out. @pculpepper.bsky.social will join @stephenricher.bsky.social and me to talk about his new book Billionaire Backlash (co-authored with my colleague @taekurono.bsky.social). www.youtube.com/live/Md8F_of...
youtube.com
Sinking Yachts: Can a Billionaire Backlash Save Democracy?
YouTube video by Harvard Ash Center
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Florian Foos @florianfoos.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Chapter on AI and Democracy with Bailey Flanigan, @politicsprof.bsky.social and Charles Stewart 👇
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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Both parties remain unpopular. www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/u...
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Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social makes a related point about society in general: that strife around who gets to speak in the public square (including campuses) has intensified as the ideological divide between the two major parties has grown more profound niemanreports.org/the-future-o...
niemanreports.org
The Future of American Democracy Amid Deepening Polarization - Nieman Reports
Harvard professor Archon Fung on the country’s political divisions and strategies for reaching across party lines.
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Psyched to talk to @vanjones.bsky.social about big tech and American politics @4pm ET. In Obama days, most tech moguls were aligned with the Democrats. Now, some very big ones are aligned with Trump and MAGA. Should progressives ally w/ big tech, or fight them? ash.harvard.edu/events/how-d...
ash.harvard.edu
How did the Democrats Lose Silicon Valley? Should They Try to Get it Back? – Ash Center
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Crimson Courage @crimsoncourage.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
This Friday don’t miss the opportunity to hear from @raskin.house.gov, @davidhogg.bsky.social, @cornellbrooks.bsky.social, Marshall Ganz, Theda Skopcol, @politicsprof.bsky.social, @alexkeyssar.bsky.social and more at the Teach-In (at Harvard & livestreamed) Register: www.students4freedom.org/events
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Terrific explainer of Orban’s dummymander result this weekend…
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Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Inspired by Henry David Thoreau's observation that some ostensibly labor-saving inventions actually require more work than they save, on the blog today, I ask whether the need to correct AI's errors renders its current manifestations a net negative for legal research and writing.
dorfonlaw.org
AI Legal Research and Thoreau's Warning
During my Federal Courts class earlier this week, a student asked me a question about a point I had made that appeared to contradict a sente...
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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
My colleague Stephen Richer, former Maricopa County Recorder, has some reactions to Trump's new mail voting E.O. from the standpoint of an experienced administrator in Arizona, a state whose permitted vote-by-mail timeline Trump seems to imagine he can block.
cato.org
A Few Key Points on Trump's New Elections Executive Order
Trump is clearly frustrated with Congress’s inability to pass new election laws. He doesn’t interpret this as a mandate to go back to the legislative drawing board, but rather a license to legislate w...
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Pro-AI group to spend $100mn on US midterm elections as backlash grows @financialtimes.com www.ft.com/content/6a3f...
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Pepper Culpepper @pculpepper.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
US publication date is today for the Billionaire Backlash! If you’re in the Cambridge (MA) area, come to Harvard Book Store tomorrow night to hear us chat about the book with the inimitable @politicsprof.bsky.social
harvard.com
Pepper Culpepper and Taeku Lee at Harvard Book Store | Harvard Book Store
1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138
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Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation @harvardash.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Tune in to today's episode of Terms of Engagement, live on YouTube at 12pm ET. Watch here ⤵️ www.youtube.com/live/BgMn70uUVHQ?si…
youtube.com
Trump and His Billionaire Allies Make their Move on the Media
YouTube video by Harvard Ash Center
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Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy @shorensteinctr.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Tune in at noon ET to hear Director Nancy Gibbs in conversation with @politicsprof.bsky.social & Stephen Richer about the current state of the media on @harvardash.bsky.social's Terms of Engagement podcast. Join live or watch/listen later.
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Patrick Heller @pheller.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Civil society fights back Nine Law Firms Surrendered. Four Law Firms Won. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Nine Law Firms Surrendered. Four Law Firms Won.
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
What's higher ed to do when it loves viewpoint diversity, but viewpoint diversity doesn't love it back? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/28/u...
nytimes.com
Pentagon to Curb Ties With Top Universities and Think Tanks
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Many of us in the democracy community tried to persuade the Obama folks that small-d democracy should be more of a priority than they made it. My sense then was that they nodded politely, but didn't really get the point. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/u...
nytimes.com
Obama Took On Recession, Health Care and Iraq. What He Didn’t See Coming Was Trump.
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Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation @harvardash.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
“The largest number of people to vote for anything in the history of Maine have said they don’t want super PACs. ... It demonstrates that this is a deeply purple issue; there was no difference in the results in red districts or blue districts." bit.ly/4tHG86G
bit.ly
How a little-known Maine ballot initiative could defang super PACs before the 2028 election
Politicians — from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) — have decried the potential corrupting force of unlimited donations from plutocrats and corporations.
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Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
This Culpepper and Thelen article on how consumer identity supports platform power is a stone-cold classic. "Focusing on the critical role played by consumers in explaining the powers platform firms wield in the rich democracies lends insight as well into their distinctive vulnerabilities"
pure.mpg.de
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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Brilliant, from the Colbert show the other night: Ian McKellen recites a speech, “The Stranger’s Case,” thought to be by Shakespeare in which Sir Thomas More addresses an unruly London crowd that has rioted demanding that strangers from abroad be sent back. “What would you think, to be thus used?”
folger.edu
The Strangers' Case | Folger Shakespeare Library
Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. Shakespeare belongs to you. His world is vast. Come explore. Jo...
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Erica Chenoweth @chenoweth.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Join me and @stevelevitsky.bsky.social at our next session of The Breakdown, this Thursday 2/18 at 4pm ET. Register here: ash.harvard.edu/events/the-b...
ash.harvard.edu
The Breakdown with Erica Chenoweth and Steve Levitsky – Ash Center
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Gabriel Zucman @gabrielzucman.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
The pace at which US wealth concentration is rising is simply staggering The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
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Mike Wagner @prowag.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Important report from @bcburden.bsky.social who runs the @electionscenter.bsky.social on this point. electionlab.mit.edu/articles/opt...
electionlab.mit.edu
Opting Out? Recent Challenges in Recruiting and Retaining Poll Workers | MIT Election Lab
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
This @bostonreview.bsky.social piece by @adambonica.bsky.social and @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social is an absolute must-read, as are many of the responses to it. Spread this one far and wide.
bostonreview.net
How Not to Defeat Authoritarianism
Moderation used to help Democrats win, but its advantages now have been greatly exaggerated.
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Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
"I demand the sum of one bm̶illion dollars"
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Join Jonathan Rauch, @stephenrich.bsky.social and me to talk about whether the Trump admin is "fascist," what that means, and whether the name matters on the @harvardash.bsky.social Terms of Engagement (Tuesday noon ET). www.youtube.com/live/vGghrgX...
youtube.com
So, Is It Fascism?
YouTube video by Harvard Ash Center
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Huge Billy Bragg fan, too.
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Like many men of a certain age, I’m a huge Springstein fan. Here’s a new track with some Dylanesque notes.
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Normal thing for a major urban American newspaper to have to post.
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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
The fundamental tenet of Robert Peel, who founded the first municipal police force in London, is that the police are the people and the people are the police. Once this connection is destroyed, you are simply an occupying force. This is why ICE should be withdrawn from Minneapolis, today.
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Mike Freiberg @repfreiberg.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Secretary of State Steve Simon’s statement on the outrageous request from the US Attorney General www.sos.mn.gov/about-the-of...
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Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Many of us educators in the democracy space have argued for decades that there should be more civic education courses in K-12, college, etc. But the folks in Minneapolis and your comment make me think the real problem is that leaders of business, media, and politics need more civic education.
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