Is the Democratic Party (small-d) democratic Enough?

As the Democratic Party coalesces with near unanimity around the Harris-Walz ticket, many Republicans and other critics argue that the Democrats — who say that defending democracy is a top priority for the party — opted for a process of ascension that bypasses typical democratic norms and recent American political precedents. Never in American history has a party switched its candidates so late (Johnson announced he wasn’t running in March 1968, during the primaries). Biden was selected to lead the party in an uncontested process (save Dean Phillips) in which an overwhelming number of primary voters (though a small portion of all voters) picked him. Then, by many accounts due to strong pressure from “party insiders,” Biden stepped down, arguably disregarding the will of those primary voters. Absent of substantive competition between alternatives, Harris quickly rose to the top of the ticket. Does any of this pose a problem for American democracy? Will this unorthodox route to nomination cast further doubt upon the integrity of American democratic processes? Or, is it simply an error to think that political parties ought to exhibit democratic features because democracy should be vindicated in contests between political parties and not inside them?

The virtual portion of this event will end with the conclusion of the panel discussion at 1 PM. For those who are attending the event in person, the panel discussion will be livestreamed in the Ash Center Seminar Room 225 and there will be an optional post-event debrief with Archon Fung following the panel discussion from 1 PM – 1:30 PM.

This event will be part of Harvard Kennedy School’s Candid and Constructive Conversations (CCC) series in the fall of 2024. The in-person portion of this event is open to Harvard ID holders only and lunch will be catered.