Naijia Liu has co-published a research article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The paper showcases an experimental design that mimics the YouTube interface, and discusses how the authors were able to demonstrate that presenting people with more partisan video recommendations has no detectable polarizing effects on users’ attitudes in the short term. …
Ph.D. Candidate Brian Highsmith co-authored a paper with Maya Sen, Harvard Kennedy School, and Kathleen Thelen, MIT, in Perspectives on Politics. A growing literature has challenged some of the more influential accounts regarding the role of courts in the development of social and economic policy in the United States. We highlight some of the more…
Marco Mendoza Aviña co-authored a paper published in The Journal of Politics. The paper examines the replicability crisis in political science by analyzing over 16,000 hypothesis tests from nearly 2,000 articles, revealing that most studies are severely underpowered while also showing that experts significantly overestimate typical power levels in the discipline. The social sciences face…
The Harvard Government Department proudly celebrates Ashley Adirika, a junior concentrator, on being named a 2025 Truman Scholar — one of the most prestigious awards in the nation for students pursuing careers in public service. Ashley was selected alongside fellow Harvard junior Eva Frazier, a Social Studies concentrator, from a competitive pool of 743 candidates…
Melani Cammett and Taeku Lee have been elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences, joining a distinguished class of nearly 250 new members. Their election recognizes their outstanding contributions to political science and public policy, as well as their commitment to advancing research that informs contemporary challenges. Melani Cammett, Clarence Dillon Professor…
We are pleased to announce that two Ph.D. candidates from the Department of Government, Julio Solis Arce and Chengyu Fu, have been awarded competitive traveling research fellowships for the 2025–26 academic year. Administered by the Committee on General Scholarships at the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), these fellowships support…
The Vik-Bailey Spring 2025 Lecture, held in the Belfer Case Study Room on April 10th, delivered thought-provoking insights on the political handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Princeton University Professors Stephen Macedo, the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Politics and the University Center for Human Values, and Frances Lee, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, discussed…
The Department of Government is proud to announce that two of our Ph.D. candidates in political theory, Abbie LeBlanc and Jan-Paul Sandmann, have been selected as 2025–26 Edmond J. Safra Graduate Fellows at Harvard’s Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics. Abbie LeBlanc, a fourth-year graduate student, focuses on the history of political thought, particularly…
On Tuesday, April 8th, members of the Harvard Department of Government gathered at the 2025 Harvard Horizons Symposium to support and celebrate one of our own, Ph.D. candidate Andrew O’Donohue. Organized by Harvard Griffin GSAS, this prestigious annual event highlights the remarkable research of the selected 2025 Harvard Horizons Scholars, chosen by the Harvard Horizons…
On April 1, the Harvard Political Union (HPU) hosted a lively debate between the Harvard College Democrats and the Harvard Republican Club, drawing a crowd of more than 300 undergraduates to the Science Center. The event, moderated by Department of Government Chair Daniel Carpenter, really highlighted students’ keen interest in political discourse. The debate covered…
