Film Screening & Panel Discussion
Esraa Abdel Fattah, Egyptian Democratic Academy; Ben Moses, Director; Will Dobson, Slate Magazine, and Tarek Masoud, HKS
Monday, January 28, 2013, 6:30 p.m.
Co-Sponsored by the Middle East Initiative, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Wiener Auditorium, Taubman Building, HKS
A Whisper to a Roar tells the heroic stories of courageous democracy activists in five countries around the world – Egypt, Malaysia, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. From student leaders to prime ministers and heads of state, these activists share their compelling personal stories of struggle, past and present, with their countries’ oppressive regimes. Shot over three years and finalized in July 2012 by award-winning filmmaker, Ben Moses, the film was inspired by the work of Stanford University’s Larry Diamond, author of The Spirit of Democracy and Director of Stanford University’s Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. More»

Nicholas J. Cull, Professor of Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California
Wednesday, 4:10-5:30 p.m.
Co-sponsored with the Harvard Seminar on History and Policy
124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North
Nicholas J. Cull is professor of public diplomacy and director of the Master's Program in Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California. He received both his bachelor's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Leeds. While a graduate student, he studied at Princeton as a Harkness Fellow of the Commonwealth Fund of New York. From 1992 to 1997 he was a lecturer in American history at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. More»

Kay Schlozman, J. Joseph Moakley Professor, Boston College; Sidney Verba, Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor Emeritus, Harvard University; Henry E. Brady, Dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy
Thursday, 4:10-5:30 p.m.
124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North
In this seminar, co-authors Professor Schlozman, Professor Verba, and Dean Brady will discuss The Unheavenly Chorus, the first book to look at the political participation of individual citizens alongside the political advocacy of thousands of organized interests--membership associations such as unions, professional associations, trade associations, and citizens groups, as well as organizations like corporations, hospitals, and universities. Drawing on numerous in-depth surveys of members of the public as well as the largest database of interest organizations ever created--representing more than 35,000 organizations over a 25-year period--they conclusively demonstrate that American democracy is marred by deeply ingrained and persistent class-based political inequality. More»

Corey Brettschneider, Professor of Political Science, Brown University
Wednesday, 4:10-5:30 p.m.
124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North
How should a liberal democracy respond to hate groups and others that oppose the ideal of free and equal citizenship? The democratic state faces the hard choice of either protecting the rights of hate groups and allowing their views to spread, or banning their views and violating citizens' rights to freedoms of expression, association, and religion. Avoiding the familiar yet problematic responses to these issues, political theorist Corey Brettschneider proposes a new approach called value democracy. More»

David Karpf, School of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University
Wednesday, 4:10 - 5:30 p.m.
124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North
Co-sponsored by the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy
Online politics is neither limited to "clicktivism" nor comprised of "organizing without organizations." In David Karpf's new book, he presents evidence that the new media environment has given rise to a new generation of political advocacy groups. These organizations have redefined membership and fundraising regimes. They have established novel tools for gauging supporter opinion and pioneered nimble mobilization tactics that keep pace with the accelerated media cycle. These tactical innovations have not spread equally to older interest groups. Nor have they spread equally across the political spectrum—"netroots" political organizations are much stronger on the left than the right. In Karpf's research presentation, he will highlight key findings and ongoing puzzles regarding the nature and scope of the "MoveOn Effect" in American politics. More»

Joseph Curtatone, Mayor of Somerville, MA; Brad Lander, Council Member, New York City; and Hollie Russon-Gilman, Ash Center
Wednesday, 4:10-5:30 p.m.
Starr Auditorium, Belfer Building, 2nd Floor, HKS
Co-sponsored by the Regional, State, Local & Tribal Governance Public Interest Council, HKS
What would happen if citizens got together to decide collectively how budgets are spent? Participatory budgeting began in Brazil, where it is used in more than 100 cities, and has just recently spread to the United States. Council Member Brad Lander helped to spearhead the efforts of eight New York City council members to put their capital budgets, totaling around $10 million, up to this democratic process. He will speak about the vision, the benefits, and the challenges of this exciting new experiment in urban democracy. More»

A Panel Debate on Philanthropy and Democracy
Rob Reich, Stanford University
Discussants: Eric Beerbohm, Frederick S. Danzinger Associate Professor of Government; Phil Buchanan, Center for Effective Philanthropy; Christine Letts, Rita E. Hauser Senior Lecturer in the Practice of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership
Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Land Hall, Harvard Kennedy School
Co-sponsored by the Ash Center, Boston Review Magazine, Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, and the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics
Judge Richard Posner suggests that foundations are “total scandals” because they lack market or electoral accountability. Foundations also operate without significant transparency requirements, elevate the preferences of wealthy individuals across generations, and are recipients of generous tax breaks. In this final Democracy Seminar of the semester, Rob Reich will explore the role of foundations in democratic societies. He argues that foundations can gain legitimacy in spite of their plutocratic power, through their work in supporting pluralism and in long-run social policy innovation. Phil Buchanan, Christine Letts, and Eric Beerbohm will respond.