Center for American Political Studies

Center for American Political Studies
Name	Center for American Political Studies
Established	1969
Type	Research center
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Parent organization	Harvard University
Director	[See Organization and Leadership]

Center for American Political Studies The Center for American Political Studies is a research institute based at Harvard University devoted to the systematic study of American politics, political behavior, and public life. Founded in the late 1960s, the center has hosted scholars from across the United States and abroad, collaborated with think tanks and foundations, and produced influential research informing debates involving the United States Congress, United States presidential elections, Supreme Court of the United States, Civil Rights Movement, and Cold War-era policymaking. Its work intersects with scholarship on constituencies such as the Democratic Party (United States), Republican Party (United States), and institutions including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, and United States Department of Justice.

History

Founded in 1969 during a period of expansion in area studies and public policy centers, the center emerged amid debates sparked by the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and shifts in electoral coalitions reflected in the 1968 United States presidential election. Early collaborators included faculty from Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, and the Department of Government, Harvard University. The center organized seminars connected to projects on the New Deal, the Great Society, the Watergate scandal, and later the Reagan Revolution. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s it hosted visiting scholars from institutions such as the Brookings Institution, American Enterprise Institute, The Heritage Foundation, and international centers in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

Mission and Research Focus

The center’s mission centers on empirical and historical analysis of American politics, including studies of the United States Congress, United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, presidency of the United States, and judicial politics involving the Supreme Court of the United States and federal appellate courts. Research priorities have encompassed electoral behavior tied to phenomena such as the New Deal coalition, Southern realignment, and demographic shifts examined alongside policies like the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Affordable Care Act. Comparative projects have linked American institutions to cases in United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, and Germany to assess institutional design, party systems, and administrative reform.

Organization and Leadership

Administratively housed within Harvard, the center has rotated directors drawn from faculty with appointments in the Department of Government, Harvard University and the Harvard Kennedy School. Past leaders have included scholars with associations to the American Political Science Association, the National Academy of Sciences, and editorial roles at journals like the American Political Science Review and Journal of Politics. The center collaborates with research programs such as the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, and the Institute of Politics (Harvard) while maintaining ties to external funders including the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and Russell Sage Foundation.

Academic Programs and Fellowships

The center runs postdoctoral fellowships, visiting scholar appointments, and graduate training linked to doctoral programs in the Department of Government, Harvard University and professional degrees at the Harvard Kennedy School. Fellowship alumni have come from institutions such as Princeton University, Yale University, Stanford University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, University of California, Berkeley, Oxford University, and Cambridge University. Programs have supported research on topics including campaign finance regulation under laws like the Federal Election Campaign Act, partisan polarization highlighted during the Tea Party movement and the Trump presidency, and policy diffusion traced through networks connecting the National Governors Association and state legislatures.

Publications and Conferences

The center sponsors working paper series, edited volumes, and conferences that bring together contributors from journals and presses such as the Harvard University Press, Princeton University Press, Oxford University Press, American Political Science Review, and Perspectives on Politics. Annual conferences have addressed themes like electoral realignment, institutional reform, and public policy crises exemplified by the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Events have featured panels with participants from the Bipartisan Policy Center, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and media appearances involving outlets tied to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and public broadcasters.

Notable Scholars and Alumni

Affiliated scholars and alumni include faculty and visitors who later held positions at institutions such as Princeton University, Yale University, Stanford University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, and who served in public offices or advisory roles for administrations like the Clinton administration, Obama administration, and Bush administration. Scholars have engaged topics connected to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Civil Rights Movement, legislative behavior during the Watergate scandal, and electoral studies following the 2016 United States presidential election. Alumni have joined organizations including the Federal Reserve Board, Office of Management and Budget, United States Department of State, and major think tanks including Brookings Institution and American Enterprise Institute.

Impact and Public Engagement

The center’s research has informed public debates on campaign finance reforms tied to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, judicial appointments to the Supreme Court of the United States, and legislative responses to crises such as the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. Public programming has connected academics with policymakers from the United States Senate, staff from the House Committee on Oversight, journalists from outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post, and civic organizations such as the League of Women Voters. Through conferences, briefings, and media engagement, the center has helped translate scholarship into policy discussions affecting parties, courts, and institutions across the United States.

Category:Harvard University research institutes