Not Born a Democracy: Preconditions for a Constitutional Republic
Martha Minow
April 11, 2026, 8 PM
R ecent experience has shaken our faith in the solidity of our democratic institutions and in the Constitution itself. We’ve discovered that critical pre-conditions for effective self-government have turned out to be weak or missing in action, and right now our constitutional system can even stand in the way of making necessary changes.
This talk will focus on several of the preconditions that stand in jeopardy: education; reliable news; security against lethal violence; and reciprocity—that is, confidence in our economic and political institutions. Currently, basic rights can’t be taken for granted. Why are these preconditions absent, and what are promising ways to invest (or re-invest) in them?
Professor Martha Minow has taught at Harvard Law School since 1981 and served as Dean from 2009-2017. She’s an expert on constitutional law and human rights who continues to serve on many boards and commissions, earned countless honors, and has written nine books, with a tenth in progress.
Her most recent book is Saving the News: Why the Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve the Freedom of Speech (2021). Her other books include When Should Law Forgive? (2019), Between Vengeance and Forgiveness: History after Genocide and Mass Violence (1998), and Making All the Difference: Inclusion, Exclusion, and American Law (1990).
Professor Minow chairs the board of Massachusetts public media (GBH) and serves on the board of other philanthropies, including the Carnegie Corporation and the SCE Foundation. Minow previously served on the Center for Strategic and International Studies Commission on Countering Violent Extremism and on the Independent International Commission Kosovo. She helped to launch Imagine Co-existence, a program of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, to promote peaceful development in post-conflict societies. She has led commissions in many other areas.
Her many honors include the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lifetime Achievement Award (American Association of Law Schools, 2024) and ten honorary degrees in three countries. She holds the 300th Anniversary University Professorship at Harvard.