Archon Fung
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politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung
@politicsprof.bsky.social
470 followers 480 following 240 posts

Director @[email protected]. Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship, Harvard Kennedy School. I study participatory democracy. All views expressed here are my own.

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Archon Fung is the Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Democracy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and co-founder of the Transparency Policy Project. Fung served as an assistant professor of public policy at the Kennedy School from July 1999–June 2004, then as an associate professor of public policy at the Kennedy School from July 2004–October 2007, and finally as a professor of public policy from October 2007–March 2009 before being named as the Ford Foundation Chair of Democracy and Citizenship in March 2009. In 2015, he was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board. .. more

Physics 29%
Political science 28%
Posts Replies Media Videos

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 1d
bsky.app/profile/poli...
politicsprof.bsky.social Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 1d
DHS Secretary Noem deploys hundreds more federal agents to Minneapolis citing corruption. According to this ranking, MN is in lowest five states in US for levels of corruption. Five most corrupt states: KY, LA, MT, WV, and, yes, Noem’s own South Dakota.

www.cato.org/blog/public-...
New York Times screenshot with headline that Noem will send hundreds more agents to MN over corruption.

Reposted by Stuart White

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 1d
DHS Secretary Noem deploys hundreds more federal agents to Minneapolis citing corruption. According to this ranking, MN is in lowest five states in US for levels of corruption. Five most corrupt states: KY, LA, MT, WV, and, yes, Noem’s own South Dakota.

www.cato.org/blog/public-...
New York Times screenshot with headline that Noem will send hundreds more agents to MN over corruption.

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 4d
Very informative - and disturbing - analysis of shooting of Renee Good by @nytimes.com. Evidently, officer was to the left of the SUV, not in front of it, when he fired. The double (triple) tap shots, at maybe 1 or 2 feet away from her, are hard to watch
malachy.bsky.social Malachy Browne @malachy.bsky.social · 4d
Video analysis clearly contradicts what Noem and Trump claim about the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. By @devonlum.bsky.social @robinsteinnyt.bsky.social Ainara Tiefenthaler Courtney Brooks for @nytimes.com www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQCv...
Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
YouTube video by The New York Times
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Archon Fung, Steve Peers , and 3 more

malachy.bsky.social
Malachy Browne @malachy.bsky.social · 4d
Video analysis clearly contradicts what Noem and Trump claim about the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. By @devonlum.bsky.social @robinsteinnyt.bsky.social Ainara Tiefenthaler Courtney Brooks for @nytimes.com www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQCv...
Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
YouTube video by The New York Times
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Archon Fung, David Dunning, Trevon D. Logan , and 3 more

kvetch.gay
taber @kvetch.gay · 5d
Minnesota Public Radio says today marks the first and only shooting and homicide in Minneapolis in the year 2026

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 5d
Walter, check out this zoomed pic apparently from the scene. Horrifying if it is what it appears to be:

bsky.app/profile/tire...
tiredgenerally.bsky.social Matt @tiredgenerally.bsky.social · 5d
not even ambiguous

Reposted by Elizabeth Saunders, Archon Fung

tiredgenerally.bsky.social
Matt @tiredgenerally.bsky.social · 5d
not even ambiguous

Reposted by Archon Fung, Joe R. Feagin, Mor Naaman , and 2 more

juddlegum.bsky.social
Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 6d
1. Hundreds of corps that pledged to stop donating to members of Congress who voted to overturn the election on 1/6/21 have broken their promise over the last 5 years

But we've identified 10 promise keepers:

Farmers
Airbnb
Expedia
Nike
Clorox
Eversource Energy
Holland & Hart
Qurate
Whirlpool
Lyft
Five years later, these 10 corporations still aren’t funding election deniers
Five years ago today, on January 6, 2021, a violent mob stormed the Capitol building.
popular.info

Reposted by Archon Fung, Tom Shakespeare, Maksym Polyakov

npr.org
NPR @npr.org · 6d
NPR built a visual archive of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, showing exactly what happened through the lenses of the people who were there. In "Chapter 2: Stop the Steal," we look at how false claims of a stolen election mobilized Trump supporters.
Jan. 6, 2021: A visual archive of the Capitol attack
NPR’s Jan. 6 archive brings together reporting, video, documents and testimony to show what really happened during the Capitol riot. Explore the timeline, cases and evidence behind the attack.
n.pr

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 7d
Very glad that many more of my fellow Americans are democrats (small-d) than imperialists.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Chart from Washington Post showing 6 percent of survey respondents support the US running Venezuela, and 94% think that Venezuelans should run Venezuela.

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 8d
Completely consistent. Trump Nat Sec Strat document mentions democracy only 3 times; 2 of those are in the context of Europe. “Democracy” appears 38 times in Biden’s 2022 NSS. Democracy is simply not a priority (might interfere with actual priorities, e.g. oil).

www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 19d
Watching the 60 Minutes CECOT segment feels somehow transgressive to me. Very disturbing report on human rights violations. Check it out here, in full broadcast quality, courtesy of @yasharali.bsky.social

www.thereset.news/p/breaking-h...
BREAKING: Here’s the 60 Minutes Segment Trump and CBS News Executives Don’t Want You to See
Hours before it was set to air last night, CBS News executives pulled the segment, but Canada’s Global TV app received it prior to broadcast.
www.thereset.news

Reposted by Archon Fung

ryanenos.bsky.social
Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 20d
apps.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/metr...
Trump’s war on Harvard: Funding freezes were just the beginning
Trump said elite universities were run by “Marxist maniacs” and vowed to take them back. Harvard would prove hard to break.
apps.bostonglobe.com

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 25d
Scary.

“The Massachusetts’ US Attorney General’s office has filed charges against the suspect they are seeking for the MIT shooting and the Brown shootings, according to a person familiar with the investigation.”

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/18/m...
Police in R.I. respond to storage facility in N.H. in connection with Brown shooting, source says. Follow live updates. - The Boston Globe
Officials are expected to announce more details at a press conference later tonight.
www.bostonglobe.com

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 25d
It's more important to be seeking the truth and asking the important questions:)

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · 29d
Uh, perhaps elites in the Democratic and Republican parties have been as problematic as elites in the faculty lounge, but with a whole lot more power?

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · Dec 13
Notable that Trump’s National Security Strategy (Nov 2025) mentions “democracy” just 3 times. Once warning that protecting democracy can be used to justify violating rights, and twice in the context of Europe. “Democracy” occurs 38 times in Biden’s 2022 NSS.

www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
www.whitehouse.gov

Reposted by Archon Fung

johngramlich.bsky.social
John Gramlich @johngramlich.bsky.social · Dec 10
#2 on the list of striking @pewresearch.org findings from the past year: What I call the "fish diagram."

International public opinion of the United States has worsened in Trump's second term, while global opinion of China has improved.

www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
Screenshot of a December 2025 Pew Research Center article noting that international views of the United States have worsened this year, while views of China have improved.

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · Dec 8
Which thinkers, you might ask? Here is Laura's schema of New Right thinkers and schools of thought.

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · Dec 8
MAGAs ideas? Join our special guest @lkatfield.bsky.social, @stephenricher.bsky.social and me to talk about what strands of the "ideas first" right such as Chris Rufo, Curtis Yarvin, "Bronze Age Pervert," Michael Anton, JD Vance, and others. Terms of Engagement: www.youtube.com/watch?v=odk0...
What Does the MAGA New Right Think?
YouTube video by Harvard Ash Center
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Archon Fung

simsjames.bsky.social
James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · Dec 8
"To fix things we need to put down our phones, meet in person across tribal lines and seek common ground while respecting different ideas about how to get there." @postopinions.bsky.social #HigherEd #Harvard
Opinion | I was a red state governor. What I saw at Harvard surprised me.
The spirit of association remains alive in unexpected places.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Archon Fung

commoncause.org
Common Cause @commoncause.org · Dec 6
Why are Congress members allowed to trade stocks while making the rules? 🤯

The Restore Trust in Congress Act stops this conflict of interest.

It’s simple. Pass it already.

Reposted by Archon Fung

normeisen.bsky.social
Norm Eisen @normeisen.bsky.social · Dec 4
W @harvardash.bsky.social & @politicsprof.bsky.social, my team @brookings.edu is working on our next edition of the Democracy Playbook

It will be a driver’s manual for democracies globally on how to make U-turns

Hear more on The Current podcast 👇
www.brookings.edu/articles/ins...
Inside the next Democracy Playbook: Strategies for global democratic U-turns | Brookings
In this episode, ACDS chair Norm Eisen discusses the forthcoming fourth edition of the Democracy Playbook and the emerging research showing how democracies can reverse democratic backsliding. He expla...
www.brookings.edu

Reposted by Archon Fung, Richard S.J. Tol, Nicholas A. Christakis , and 22 more

jakemgrumbach.bsky.social
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · Dec 3
After becoming a congressional leader, a politician’s stock portfolio beats out those of peers by 47 (!!!) percentage points a year through trades timed around bills and firms that later get government contracts

www.nber.org/papers/w34524

via @florianederer.bsky.social
"Captain Gains" on Capitol Hill Shang-Jin Wei & Yifan Zhou WORKING PAPER 34524 DOI 10.3386/w34524 ISSUE DATE November 2025 Using transaction-level data on US congressional stock trades, we find that lawmakers who later ascend to leadership positions perform similarly to matched peers beforehand but outperform them by 47 percentage points annually after ascension. Leaders' superior performance arises through two mechanisms. The political influence channel is reflected in higher returns when their party controls the chamber, sales of stocks preceding regulatory actions, and purchase of stocks whose firms receiving more government contracts and favorable party support on bills. The corporate access channel is reflected in stock trades that predict subsequent corporate news and greater returns on donor-owned or home-state firms. 令 1 1 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 Year Figure 2: Estimated dynamic quasi-difference-in-differences coefficient, di, of equation(3), with vertical dashed lines representing 90 percent confidence intervals. The point estimate of the year in which the lawmaker became a congressional leader (Year 0) is normalized to zero. BHAR over the 250 days following each trade is the dependent variable and calculated using the Fama-French five-factor plus momentum as the benchmark model.

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · Dec 2
@stephenricher.bsky.social and I talk about the Epstein files as a litmus test of populism / elitism? Will Epstein break MAGA? What are its effects on higher ed?

Reposted by Archon Fung

harvardash.bsky.social
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation @harvardash.bsky.social · Dec 2
Tune in to today’s episode of “Terms of Engagement,” on YouTube at 12 pm ET.

www.youtube.com/live/ymNUbeY...
The Politics of the Epstein Files
YouTube video by Harvard Ash Center
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Archon Fung

pculpepper.bsky.social
Pepper Culpepper @pculpepper.bsky.social · Nov 30
Ask yourself how bad it’s got to be for conflict of interest in the current administration to be a page one story. Answer below.
carlquintanilla.bsky.social Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · Nov 30
Five-byline alert: 🚨

David Sacks “has 708 tech investments .. that could be aided directly or indirectly by his policies, according to a New York Times analysis

“The tech bros are out of control,” said Steve Bannon.

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/t...

Reposted by Archon Fung

bethmacy.bsky.social
Beth Macy @bethmacy.bsky.social · Nov 30
A sobering look at shutdown pain from housing authority residents (and how you, too, can become a citizen journalist). My latest Substack on two women fighting for basic human dignity.
open.substack.com/pub/bethmacy...
How These Women Turned into Citizen Journalists and Activists
By Shining Light On the ‘Slow Dismantling of Human Dignity’
open.substack.com

Reposted by Ryan Enos

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · Nov 26
Good read from @ryanenos.bsky.social:

“the paradox of prosperity… is that the people most able to resist authoritarianism are also those perhaps most vulnerable and least willing to resist it.”

politicsprof.bsky.social
Archon Fung @politicsprof.bsky.social · Nov 25
@stephenricher.bsky.social and I are going live in 15 mins to discuss trends in democracy this year and our democracy wish lists. @harvardash.bsky.social

www.youtube.com/live/rYUI8rY...
Wait, Wait — What Happened?
YouTube video by Harvard Ash Center
www.youtube.com