On October 21, the Kluge Center, in partnership with the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution, held its fourth event in the Pillars of Democracy series. After three events that covered the lack of trust in the constitutional branches of government, the fourth event’s focus shifted to the administrative state, which some describe as …
For decades America’s civic and governmental institutions have lost the trust of the people, and sometimes even come under direct attack. Commentators offer various explanations for what has happened. Many point to a loss of faith in authority figures beginning with the Vietnam War and the corruption of Watergate, and the movement in the 1960s …
For decades America’s civic and governmental institutions have lost the trust of the people, and sometimes even come under direct attack. Commentators offer various explanations for what has happened. Many point to a loss of faith in authority figures beginning with the Vietnam War and the corruption of Watergate. A movement in the 1960s and …
Introduction from the Director of the Kluge Center Around the turn of the century, then-Librarian of Congress James Billington secured a generous gift to endow the Henry A. Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations, concurrent with the opening of the Kluge Center. Many of Dr. Kissinger’s friends and colleagues, as well as foundations, …
At any point in time we might look at our political institutions – Congress, the presidency, the courts, elections, etc. – and see them as static, impervious to change in the larger social or cultural environment. In fact, that perception is wrong. Our political institutions evolve just as the larger culture does. As the nation’s …
On December 17, Frances Lee and Jim Curry discussed their new book, The Limits of Party: Congress and Lawmaking in a Polarized Era, as part of our “Conversations on the Future of Democracy” series. Lee, from Princeton University, is recognized as one of the leading authorities on congressional politics and was Chair in Congressional Policymaking …
No one needs reminding that democracy in the US, Europe, and elsewhere is under stress. Led by Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden, the Kluge Center has hosted some of the greatest thinkers from the academy and leading practitioners in the political and policymaking world for conversations on the future of democracy. In fact, the …
After a rigorous months-long selection process, Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, will announce the winner of the 2020 John W. Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity on June 22. Understanding how the Kluge Prize fits into the mission of the Library requires a brief historical excursion. The Importance of Knowledge to the …
The Kluge Center held a flurry of events in the last week of September, including a discussion with Jonathan Haidt of his book, “The Coddling of the American Mind,” the Symposium “Becoming Interplanetary,” hosted by the NASA/Library of Congress Blumberg Chair in Astrobiology, Lucianne Walkowicz, and a dynamic discussion of the politics and culture of …
