The Carr Center for Human Rights Policy serves as the hub of the Harvard Kennedy School’s research, teaching, and training in the human rights domain. The center embraces a dual mission: to educate students and the next generation of leaders from around the world in human rights policy and practice; and to convene and provide policy-relevant knowledge to international organizations, governments, policymakers, and businesses.
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Latest Publications
Biden's 100 Days
Citation:
Carr Center Human Rights for Policy. 4/29/2021. “Biden's 100 Days.” Carr Center Discussion Paper Series. See full text.
Abstract:
We asked faculty and fellows from the Carr Center to share their insight on the first 100 days of the Biden Administration. Here's what they had to say.
: Carr Center for Human Rights Policy | Apr 29 2021
: Learn what Carr Center faculty and fellows had to say about the Biden Administration's first 100 days in office.
Data as Collectively Generated Patterns: Making Sense of Data Ownership
Citation:
Mathias Risse. 4/26/2021. “Data as Collectively Generated Patterns: Making Sense of Data Ownership.” Carr Center Discussion Paper Series. See full text.
Abstract:
Data ownership is power. Who should hold that power? How should data be owned? The importance of data ownership explains why it has been analogized to other domains where ownership is better understood. Several data-as proposals are on the table: data as oil, as intellectual property, as personhood, as salvage, data as labor, etc. Author Mathias Risse proposes another way of thinking about data. His view characterizes data in ways that make them accessible to ownership considerations and can be expressed as a data-as view: data as collectively generated patterns. Unlike the alternatives, data as collectively generated patterns does not create any equivalence with another domain where ownership is already well-understood. It reveals how ownership considerations enter, but we must explore afresh how they do. Accordingly, he proposes a way for ownership considerations to bear on data once we understand them that way. And if we did understand them that way, the internet should presumably be designed very differently from what we have now.
: Mathias Risse | April 26 2021
: Data ownership is power. Who should hold that power?
Practice What You Preach: Global Human Rights Leadership Begins at Home
Citation:
John Shattuck and Kathryn Sikkink. 4/20/2021. “Practice What You Preach: Global Human Rights Leadership Begins at Home .” Foreign Affairs, May/ June 4/20/2021. Read the article.
Abstract:
The international standing of the United States has taken a serious hit over the past four years. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s strident “America first” foreign policy is partly to blame, but so are his attacks on democracy and human rights, both internationally and domestically. Abroad, Trump set the cause of human rights back by embracing authoritarians and alienating democratic allies. At home, he launched an assault on the electoral process, encouraged a failed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and systematically undermined civil rights protections, leaving his successor to grapple with multiple, overlapping human rights crises. As if that were not enough, a host of other problems await, from the pandemic to increasing competition with China and the overall decline of American power.
: John Shattuck and Kathryn Sikkink | Apr 20 2021
: The international standing of the United States has taken a serious hit over the past four years.
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“The Carr Center is building a bridge between ideas on human rights and the practice on the ground. Right now we are at a critical juncture. The pace of technological change and the rise of authoritarian governments are both examples of serious challenges to the flourishing of individual rights. It’s crucial that Harvard and the Kennedy School continue to be a major influence in keeping human rights ideals alive. The Carr Center is a focal point for this important task.”
- Mathias Risse