Crowd of Black Lives Matters demonstrators marching in the street.
Feature: The Democratic Necessity of Reckoning

Erica Chenoweth reviews scholarship that overwhelmingly shows the Black Lives Matter movement generated high levels of public awareness about systemic racism and increased support for criminal justice reform.

Electronic stock ticker board with numbers and arabic letters.
Feature: Against Rule-of-Thumb Economics

Dani Rodrik argues against neoliberalism’s universal rule-of-thumb approach and for economic analyses grounded in contextual dependencies.

Several hands of team members covering one another in a huddle above a work table.
Feature: Leaders’ Psychological Bravery

Dana Born explores what skills leaders need to cultivate psychological safety on their teams and across their organizations.

Dollars and Euros piled on top of one another.
Feature: Dollar vs. Euro as International Reserve Currencies

Jeffrey Frankel explores the strengths and weaknesses of using the Dollar and the Euro as international reserve currencies.

Harvard Kennedy School faculty disseminate their research in working publications and papers that contribute to public knowledge and fuel policy innovation. This list features recent faculty publications, including journal articles, books, edited volumes, research papers, and public testimony.

Faculty Publications

Civic Feedbacks: Linking Collective Action, Organizational Strategy, and Influence over Public Policy

Han, Hahrie, Andrea Louise Campbell, and Elizabeth McKenna. "Civic Feedbacks: Linking Collective Action, Organizational Strategy, and Influence over Public Policy." Perspectives on Politics 21.4 (December 2023): 1432 -1446.

Placing the peripheries within Brazil’s rightward turn: Socio-spatial transformation and electoral realignment, 2002–2018

Richmond, Matthew A., and Elizabeth McKenna. "Placing the peripheries within Brazil’s rightward turn: Socio-spatial transformation and electoral realignment, 2002–2018." Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space 0.0 (2023): 1-18.

Power Metrics: Measuring What Matters to Build a Multiracial Democracy

Cushman, Joy, and Elizabeth McKenna. "Power Metrics: Measuring What Matters to Build a Multiracial Democracy." Democracy & Power Innovation Fund, 2023.

Habits of Courage: Reconceptualizing Risk in Social Movement Organizing

Oyakawa, Michelle, Elizabeth McKenna, and Hahrie Han. "Habits of Courage: Reconceptualizing Risk in Social Movement Organizing." Journal of Community Psychology 49.8 (November 2021): 3101-3121.

Beyond Numbers

Han, Hahrie, Elizabeth McKenna, and Michelle Oyakawa. "Beyond Numbers." Stanford Social Innovation Review (August 10, 2021).

Prisms of the People: Power & Organizing in Twenty-First-Century America

Han, Hahrie, Elizabeth McKenna, and Michelle Oyakawa. Prisms of the People: Power & Organizing in Twenty-First-Century America. University of Chicago Press, 2021.

Constituency as an Independent Source
of Power

Oyakawa, Michelle, Elizabeth McKenna, and Hahrie Han. "Constituency as an Independent Source of Power." Social Science Research Council - Items. April 6, 2021.

To Learn About the Democratic Party’s Future, Look to What Latino Organizers did in Arizona

Han, Hahrie, and Elizabeth McKenna. "To Learn About the Democratic Party’s Future, Look to What Latino Organizers did in Arizona." The Washington Post, Monkey Cage, February 9, 2021.

Taxes and Tithes: The Organizational Foundations of Bolsonarismo

McKenna, Elizabeth. "Taxes and Tithes: The Organizational Foundations of Bolsonarismo." International Sociology 35.6 (November 2020): 610-631.

Social Movements in a Global Context: History, Content, and Form

Bringel, Breno, and Elizabeth McKenna. "Social Movements in a Global Context: History, Content, and Form." The Nonprofit Sector: A Research Handbook. Ed. Walter W. Powell and Patricia Bromley. Stanford University Press, 2020, 631-647.

People Power: Building Political Bases to Make Multiracial Democracy Work

Schrantz, Doran, Michelle Oyakawa, and Elizabeth McKenna. "People Power: Building Political Bases to Make Multiracial Democracy Work." Stanford Social Innovation Review 18.1 (Winter 2020): A9–A11.

Bringing Leadership Back In

Ganz, Marshall, and Elizabeth McKenna. "Bringing Leadership Back In." The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Social Movements. Ed. David A. Snow, Sarah A. Soule, Hanspeter Kriesi, and Holly J. McCammon. Wiley-Blackwell, 2018, 185-202.

The Untilled Field of Field Campaigns

Han, Hahrie, and Elizabeth McKenna. "The Untilled Field of Field Campaigns." Perspectives on Politics 14.3 (September 2016): 750-757.

Groundbreakers: How Obama’s 2.2 Million Volunteers Transformed Campaigning in America

McKenna, Elizabeth, and Hahrie Han. Groundbreakers: How Obama’s 2.2 Million Volunteers Transformed Campaigning in America. Oxford University Press, 2015.

Engaging Voters Can Kickstart Community Activism

Han, Hahrie, and Elizabeth McKenna. "Engaging Voters Can Kickstart Community Activism." The Washington Post, Monkey Cage, November 25, 2014.