Category: Events

By Jackie Ogburn A panel of Duke professors on Monday discussed the political, legal and national security issues raised by the U.S. House impeachment inquiry… Continue Reading Making Sense of the Impeachment Inquiry

Canadian students Eli Levine, Melinda Melvin, Evan Pebesma discuss the reelection of Justin Trudeau. DUCIGS Director Giovanni Zanalda moderated the panel. Photo by Renate Kwon… Continue Reading After Election, Canadian Students Look at Country’s Future

By Jessica Sullivan, POLIS From the 2020 Democratic primary debates to President Trump wanting to buy Greenland, this summer had no shortage of notable moments.… Continue Reading Faculty Panel Reviews a Strange Summer of Jarring Political Headlines

“I am Carmen Castillo: hotel worker, representative, union member, city councilwoman. That’s me, and I want to continue being like that for the rest of my life.” This is how Carmen Castillo begins telling her extraordinary political story.

Continue Reading When a Hotel Housekeeper Won a Seat on the City Council

With a crucial national election looming in India, and with Indian citizens able to vote from abroad for the first time in history, on April 2 Duke students from India provided their insights into the upcoming election.

Continue Reading An Election in India is Raising Interest in North Carolina

Think it’s hard being a college student? Try being a political representative as well. On March 4, POLIS: Duke’s Center for Political Leadership, Innovation, and Service invited two young elected officials to speak on Duke’s campus.

Continue Reading Balancing College with Being an Elected Legislator

Becoming a lawyer was not a proactive choice for Zhubin Parang, but rather a default option after graduating from college. “Law was possibly the most safe profession that I could think of at the time that did not require knowing math,” he said. That might help explain why after practicing corporate law for four years, Parang decided to quit his job and pursue a career in comedy. But, as he said in a talk this month to POLIS and Sanford School of Public Policy students, it also explains why he’s comfortable doing comedy with a political edge.

Continue Reading Can Comedy Reconcile Political Difference? A ‘Daily Show’ Writer Weighs In

Mike Abramowitz, president of Freedom House, and Sanford School Dean Judith Kelley shared a timely message in a Feb. 25 panel discussion: Democracy is “not a one-way street,” and democratic nations can fall back into authoritarianism.

Continue Reading When Democracy Declines: Panel Explores the Challenges to Sustaining Freedom

Duke University boasts seven alums currently serving in the U.S. Congress. On February 18, Duke University welcomed its third of the 2018-2019 academic year: Scott Peters ’80, who spoke to Duke students at the Sanford School of Public Policy.

Continue Reading U.S. Rep. Scott Peters on Whether the New Democratic Majority Can Unify the Country

Mo Elleithee, former spokesman for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and later for the Democratic National Committee, has no interest in partisan politics. During a talk last week at Duke, Elleithee explained why.

Continue Reading Ex-Clinton Spokesman Issues Caution: “We As a People Don’t Like One Another”

One of the most influential figures in the American conservative movement over the last 40 years, Grover Norquist spoke Feb. 7 at Duke about conservatism, issue advocacy, and his longstanding role in politics.

Continue Reading A Giant of the Conservative Movement Discusses His Career

After the 2018 mass shooting in his Pittsburgh neighborhood of Squirrel Hill at the Tree of Life synagogue, where his parents were married and his closest friends regularly attended services, junior David Frisch began planning a campus panel discussion on how to reduce gun violence.

Continue Reading Different Perspectives, Similar Messages on Gun Violence and Regulation

What is it like to work on a presidential campaign? About 40 Duke students gathered Jan. 17 to hear stories from the campaigning front lines from experienced students and staff.

Continue Reading So You Want to Work on a Presidential Campaign. Here’s What It’s Like.

What should we expect from Congress between January and the presidential election in 2020, now that Democrats have won back the House? Not much, according to one U.S. senator.

Continue Reading Rand Paul on How Libertarian Philosophy Can Connect Divided Partisans

When the simple question – Do you plan to vote? – resulted in an F-bomb hurled his way, Gunther Peck took the high road. He inquired why the person was so angry. “I want you to vote,” he told the hurler.

Continue Reading Election 2018: The Surprise Was There Were Few Surprises

By Hannah Miao ’21, POLIS What do typewriters, the Peace Corps, and former US Senator Jay Rockefeller have in common? Each played a key role… Continue Reading A DC Insider on How Bipartisanship Can Bring Lasting and Sustainable Change

  Political observers call it a “blue moon election.” Once every 12 years, North Carolinians go to the ballot box and face an election with… Continue Reading What Would the Six Constitutional Amendments on the NC Ballot Do?

We are now at capacity for this event. Thank you for your interest. Duke University’s student organization “Young Americans for Liberty” has successfully secured Senator… Continue Reading SOLD OUT: Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) to Speak on 11/9

Global Perspective series has foreign students provide insight into their country’s news-making events.

Continue Reading Brazilians Comment on a Strange Presidential Election

Virginia Rep. Kathy Tran, T’00, has an extraordinary American story, one that has taken her from her arrival at age 2 with her family as refugees from Vietnam to being a rising star in Virginia politics. 

Continue Reading The Rise of Kathy Tran from Political Novice to Elected Official

Two statistics loom heavily in the discussions journalist Issac Bailey has with readers concerning the topics of race and crime.

Continue Reading When Race and Crime Mix, the Solutions Require Hard Discussions

“Don’t believe all the hype of Washington, D.C.,” Congressman Tom Reed (R-NY) urged last week at a Duke panel discussion. That hype feeds a lot… Continue Reading Congressional Bipartisanship Isn’t Dead; It’s Just Under the Radar

Major news of the summer began with a wedding and ended it with a funeral, with global summits and failed immigration policies in between, speakers said during a roundtable discussion.

Continue Reading A Wedding and a Funeral and All the Political News in Between

To understand NBC national political reporter Jonathan Allen, one need look no further than his two stints at POLITICO — first as a contract hire… Continue Reading ‘I’m contrarian. I’m a curmudgeon. Journalism is my calling.’

Three local activists from across the political spectrum described the joys and challenges of citizen activism at an April 17 panel in the Sanford School’s Rhodes Conference Room, sponsored by Duke’s Center for Political Leadership, Innovation, and Service (POLIS).

Continue Reading They Work Across the Political Spectrum, But These Activists Share the Same Passion

In the contemporary political scene, there are few true bipartisans remaining. Two of them came to Duke April 4 to discuss the state of political compromise in a time of deep ideological divisions.

Continue Reading The Price of Compromise: Two Congressmen Discuss Bipartisan Collaboration in Congress

By Jackie Ogburn Describing herself as “a recovering politician,” Sen. Olympia Snowe, former Republican senator and representative from Maine, Monday described the polarization in the… Continue Reading Bipartisanship Still Possible Says Sen. Olympia Snowe

Nearly 40 students, faculty, and community members took a crash course on Egyptian politics on March 1 at the Sanford School of Public Policy, exploring Egypt’s complex history and how the growing power of the country’s president and his muzzling of civil society is affecting one of the most important countries in the Middle East.

Continue Reading Voices from Egypt: Panel Takes a Crash Course on a Presidential Election

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) practices what he preaches. On Thursday, the U.S. Marine Corps veteran sat down with Duke POLIS Director Fritz Mayer and nearly 200 members of the Duke community to discuss topics ranging from bipartisanship to guns. Throughout the event, Moulton brought it back to having the courage to serve.

Continue Reading Congressman Seth Moulton Calls Students to Public Service

On January 30, Neil Newhouse, Republican pollster and Duke Alum (BA’74), spent half a day with Duke students to share perspectives on polling, contemporary politics, and Washington, DC careers. His visit was sponsored by POLIS: Duke’s Center for Political Leadership, Innovation, and Service.

Continue Reading Pollster Neil Newhouse on the Data Underlying America’s Stark Political Divide

On January 29, Politico senior reporter Michael Kruse spent half a day on campus with Duke students to share insights on political reporting and our current state of politics. His visit was sponsored by POLIS: Duke’s Center for Political Leadership, Innovation, and Service and was cosponsored by the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy.

Continue Reading During a Day with Students, Journalist Michael Kruse Draws Connections Between Political Reporting and Citizenship

Our biweekly breakfast political conversation series, WTF (Wake To Fritz), returns this semester! Join us every other Tuesday in Sanford 201 for breakfast and conversations… Continue Reading WTF (Wake to Fritz): Breakfast Political Conversations Starting 9/5

Drop by Rhodes Conference Room (Sanford 223) on August 29 for a quick bite to eat and to hear about some of our programming for… Continue Reading 8/29, 12pm: POLIS Welcome Back Lunch

On April 2, Duke students gathered in Room 04 of the Sanford Building to be part of a “Political Participation Boot Camp.”

Continue Reading Political Participation Boot Camp Helps Students Navigate Political Engagement

Despite their opposing political viewpoints, John Hood and Leslie Winner encourage others to look past the heated polarization of today’s politics.

Continue Reading NC Political Leaders Encourage Civility During Kenan Events

Interested in learning about how to run a political campaign? Duke professor Michael Munger will be hosting a lunch chat in Sanford to discuss his experiences running for Governor of NC as the Libertarian candidate. RSVP if you would like to attend! Pizza will be provided.

Continue Reading 4/13: Campaign Talk with Michael Munger

Approximately 40 female Duke students gathered for nearly five hours on Sunday, March 5 to participate in an interactive campaign workshop.

Continue Reading Campaign Training for Women

The new media environment, gender, race and class are all important themes of 2016 Presidential Elections, according to national experts who spoke at the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy’s annual “Sanford on the Hill” event at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center on July 12.

Continue Reading Duke Alumni Hear Unique Perspectives On 2016 Elections

Macon Phillips, Trinity ’00, spoke about how to use technology to engage people in politics in a talk at the Sanford School of Public Policy Wednesday, February 10.

Continue Reading Alumnus Macon Phillips on Tech & Citizen Engagement

On Feb. 29, the eve of the Super Tuesday Primary, three comedians who host radio talk shows for SiriusXM Insight will perform stand-up comedy at Duke University’s Page Auditorium.

Continue Reading SiriusXM @ Duke: Super Tuesday Broadcast and Comedy Show