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Artificial Intelligence and Digital Governance: Reflections on Magnifica Humanitas, Human Rights, and Two Speeches by the Prime Minister of Spain

When Robert Francis Prevost was elected pope in spring 2025 and chose the name Leo XIV, I wrote that this choice signaled something consequential for the human rights movement. By invoking the name of ...
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What Louisiana v. Callais Means for the Voting Rights Act

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court significantly weakened the 1965 Voting Rights Act through a landmark ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. The Court ruled that Louisiana’s 2024 congressional map, which ...
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An International Blueprint for Forced Labor Import Bans

This policy brief outlines a global framework for forced labor import bans (FLIBs) as a key tool to address forced labor in international supply chains. Despite legal prohibitions, forced labor ...
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Explainer: Why is it so hard to file taxes in the United States?

Filing taxes in the United States is harder and more expensive than in many countries; an HKS expert explains why. In the United States, tax filing is due on April 15th. As the day approaches, ...
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Are we officially at war with Iran?

On April 1, President Trump made his first formal public address about the United States’ military actions in Iran. His speech came over a month after the United States and Israel sent missiles and ...
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America at 250: Jill Lepore asks Pete Buttigieg, Drew Faust, and Eddie Glaude about the state of our union

It literally was an idea ahead of its time. Before his unexpected death in 2025, Setti Warren envisioned celebrating the nation’s 250 birthday with a series of conversations exploring the past, ...
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AI for governments and policymakers

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how governments operate, how workers do their jobs, and how citizens interact with public institutions. But while the technology is advancing quickly, the ...
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“Democracy is an unintended consequence”: Ken Burns on the story of American history

There’s a neon sign in Ken Burns’ editing room that captures his take on history: “It’s complicated.” The documentarian embraced that complicated narrative last month in a conversation at Harvard ...
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A Tale of Two Countries

March 12, 2026, Paper: "Real estate has long been central to China’s growth model, yet since 2018 its contribution has declined sharply, turning the sector from a key engine of expansion into a major ...
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What Trump Misunderstands About U.S. Interests and the UN

We live in a world with many global problems, but no global government. The countries of the world try to handle their common problems through governance without government, or what we call global ...
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Democracy in 2025: Harvard professors on rising authoritarianism in the United States

“Authoritarianism is new to many Americans,” said Steven Levitsky late last month. “And Americans have responded in a couple different ways—but we see a couple of misperceptions that concern us.” ...
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Explainer: Understanding the costs (and benefits) of making public transportation free

Taubman Center Visiting Fellow Samantha Silverberg explains how New York Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s plans to make New York’s buses fare-free could reshape mobility in the nation’s largest city, but ...