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Jacqueline Bhabha, Laura Cordisco-Tsai, Teresa Hodge, and Laurin Leonard. 4/10/2020. “Upholding Non-Discrimination Principles in the Covid-19 Outbreak.” Carr Center Covid-19 Discussion Paper Series, 03. See full text.Abstract

Carr Center faculty and fellows discuss how we can employ principles of non-discrimination to address the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on our most vulnerable communities.

In our third Covid-19 Discussion Paper, Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights, Jacqueline Bhabha; Technology and Human Rights Fellows Laurin Leonard and Teresa Hodge; and Carr Center Fellow, Laura Cordisco-Tsai, outline how Covid-19 disproportionately impacts the world's most vulnerable communities. From prison populations to survivors of human trafficking, "Vulnerable communities often are not positioned to ensure their human rights are preserved in times of a crisis—they are often a historical afterthought."

Read the full text here. 



John Shattuck. 2/23/2018. “How Democracy in America Can Survive Donald Trump.” The American Prospect. Publisher's VersionAbstract

New article by Senior Fellow John Shattuck in The American Prospect.

Alexis de Tocqueville observed in 1835 that “the greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.” Tocqueville’s observation, broadly accurate over the past two centuries, is facing perhaps its most severe test today.

In its 2016 “Democracy Index” report, the Economist Intelligence Unit downgraded the United States from a “full” to a “flawed democracy.” In 2018, Freedom House offered a more dire assessment: “[D]emocratic institutions have suffered erosion, as reflected in partisan manipulation of the electoral process, bias and dysfunction in the criminal justice system, and growing disparities in wealth, economic opportunity, and political influence.”

Declining participation and confidence in government are not new, but the populist forces that propelled the election of Donald Trump signaled a new level of public disillusionment with democratic politics and institutions. During his campaign and first year in office, Trump’s core constituency cheered him on as he attacked fundamental elements of liberal democracy, including media freedom, judicial independence, and a pluralist civil society. 

Read the full article in The American Prospect. 



Erica Chenoweth, Salil Shetty, and Matthew Smith. 4/17/2020. “Reimagining Social Movements and Civil Resistance during the Global Pandemic.” Carr Center Covid-19 Discussion Paper Series, 04. See full text.Abstract

Carr Center faculty and fellows outline how social movements and civil resistance can take shape in a time of social distancing, and how these efforts are more important than ever in holding governments accountable.

We interviewed Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs, Erica Chenoweth, Senior Carr Fellow Salil Shetty, and Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights, Matthew Smith, to discuss how social movements and civil resistance efforts are changing shape in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Read the full paper here. 

 



John Shattuck and Mathias Risse. 10/8/2020. “Reimagining Rights and Responsibilities in the United States: Toward a More Equal Liberty.” Reimagining Rights and Responsibilities in the United States, 2020-01. See full text.Abstract

Americans today know they face threats to their rights, their democracy, their health and their economy. These threats are interrelated and demand a transformative response. Transformations have occurred at other pivotal moments in our nation’s history—at its founding during the American Revolution, its Reconstruction after the Civil War, its recovery from the Great Depression, its rise after World War II, and its reimagining during the Civil Rights Movement. Can today become a similar moment of transformation, turning threats into opportunities through the power of civic activism, voting, and government response? Can we reimagine the promise of rights that bind us together as a nation of diverse histories, identities, and lived experiences? 
 
With the release of their nonpartisan, evidence-based report, Reimagining Rights and Responsibilities in the United States, researchers at Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr Center for Human Rights provide a guide for the nation wrestling with its values. This blueprint for protecting and expanding citizens’ rights proposes policy changes to strengthen democratic processes; safeguard equal protection, equal opportunity, and due process of law; and better protect freedoms of speech, media, religion and privacy. The Reimagining Rights and Responsibilities Project is directed by John Shattuck, Carr Center Senior Fellow and former US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. The report and the project are overseen by a faculty committee chaired by Carr Center Faculty Director Mathias Risse.
 
The report offers an in-depth analysis of the state of rights in America in 2020, and then offers 80 recommendations to address failures to protect these rights. The Reimagining Rights team researched fifteen topics in five broad categories that are fundamental to protecting and expanding citizens’ rights. The Carr Center will continue to publish the fifteen reports in the coming months that expand upon specific rights domains in greater detail, including voting rights, money in politics, civic education, racial equality, women’s rights, and other areas of research. Sign up for our newsletter and follow our social media channels to stay up-to-date as we release each report.

Read the Executive Summary.

 

Read the Additional Reports: 

1. Voting Rights
2. Money in Politics
3. Civic Education
4. Racial Discrimination
5. Women's Rights
6. LGBTQ+ Rights
7. Disability Rights
8. Equal Access
9. Immigration
10. Criminal Justice & Public Safety
11. Gun Rights & Public Safety
12. Freedom of Speech & Media
13. Religious Freedom
14. Hate Crimes
15. Privacy, Personal Data, and Surveillance
2020 Jun 03
The Struggle for Black Lives: Historical Legacies to Future Possibilities
Registration Closed 11:00am to 12:00pm
Location: 
Virtual Event (Registration Required)
The tragic killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville have sparked protests across the country. Join the Carr Center for a conversation with two leading scholars on the history of racist policing in the United States, the killing of black people by police and vigilantes, the role of social and civil rights movements in advocating for change, and ways in which we can envision a just future.  
Panelists:
• Keisha N. Blain | W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow, Harvard University; President, African American...
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2020 Jun 05
Migrants in Hungary and the Role of Grassroots Groups
Registration Closed 12:00pm to 1:15pm
Location: 
Virtual Event (Registration Required)
Introducing activism through the lens of a solidarity group in Hungary.
Panelists:
• Aiski Ryokas | Activist
• Aliz Pocsuvalszki | Activist
• Mussa Kilam | Activist 
• Amy Rodgers | Activist 
• Camille Tournebize | Activist 
• Aniko Bakonyi (co-moderator) | Topol Fellow, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy...
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2020 Jun 12
People Power in the Face of Authoritarianism in Nicaragua
Registration Closed 12:00pm to 1:15pm
Location: 
Virtual Event (Registration Required)
A conversation with Nicaraguan human rights defenders about the trials, triumphs and future challenges of people power in Nicaragua in a context of democratic decay, decreasing civic space and authoritarianism since the return of Daniel Ortega to power in 2007.
Panelists
• Amaya Coppens Zamora | Activist, Medical Student, Political Prisoner
• Mateo Jarquín Chamorro | Assistant Professor, Chapman University 
• Mónica López Baltodano | Activist,...
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2020 Jun 17
India’s COVID Democracy Crisis: Lockdown of Labour and Liberties
Registration Closed 12:00pm to 1:15pm
Location: 
Virtual Webinar (Registration Required)
In response to the public health crisis of COVID, India has imposed one of the most stringent and ill prepared lockdowns in the world, leading to a humanitarian disaster. Over 700 people have died unrelated to the virus but due to distress directly caused by the lockdown, such as hunger. Even as the state has flexed its executive muscle, activating police forces to enforce the lockdown with...
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2020 Nov 12
Summit on Nonviolent Resistance Today 
Registration Closed 11:00am to 4:00pm
Location: 
Virtual Event (Registration Required)
On November 12, 2020, the Nonviolent Action Lab convened a summit featuring scholars and practitioners of nonviolent action. The event featured a keynote speech from the Rev. Stephen Green of Faith for Black Lives, several panels featuring new research on nonviolent resistance, and focused discussion among dozens of scholars, practitioners, and Topol Fellows from Harvard, Tufts, Brandeis, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of Massachusetts-Boston, Boston Latin School, and elsewhere.
This Summit, convened by the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, is made possible...
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2021 Jan 14
POSTPONED :Democracy at Risk: Reckoning with the Capitol Insurrection
Registration Closed 1:00pm to 2:15pm
Location: 
Virtual Event (Registration Required)
 
This event has been postponed. 
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