“Democracy” at Harvard and America

Throughout the past few decades, American politics has shifted focus from traditional issues like the economy or social policy to an emphasis on “defending democracy.” In the 2024 election, a third of voters said their vote was primarily motivated by fears that American democracy was under threat, with a plurality of both Democrat and Republican voters saying that “democracy in the U.S.” was “very threatened” by contemporary politics. Within Harvard’s Government department, defending democracy and “democratic institutions” has similarly become the central research question for intellectual inquiry. Unfortunately, this trend has undermined our ability to have serious discussions about politics, both in America and at Harvard.

The emergence of “defending democracy” as the central issue of American political life has been as confusing as it has been bipartisan. On the right, following the 2020 election, concerns about the “deep state” and illegal voting have led both politicians and voters to prioritize fairness of elections above nearly any other political issue. As of March this year, the only major Republican domestic policy proposal was to nationalize the management of elections and require voter ID nationwide. This policy has been declared by President Donald Trump to be the “most important & consequential piece of legislation” in American politics, necessary to stop Democrats from, in his words, “rigg[ing] elections.” Indeed, Trump promised to halt all other congressional policy (in a Republican Congress) if they cannot pass this singular bill, and in support of this goal he has advocated for overturning traditional institutions of the American Republic like the filibuster.