Institute for Humane Studies

06/23/2026

Formal institutions don't sustain themselves. The values, norms, and habits underneath them do. In her keynote at the 2025 Markets and Society Conference, IHS President Emily Chamlee-Wright argues that liberalism faces a deeper crisis than any constitutional threat. It's the slow erosion of its cultural foundations. Once those foundations degrade, no legislation can bring them back.

Her prescription: scholars and intellectuals need to pick up the cultural tools already in their hands, stories, symbols, and founding ideals, and use them with urgency. Hear the full keynote on the Hayek Program podcast.

On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Emily Chamlee-Wright delivers a keynote lecture at the 2025 Markets &

06/18/2026

What do conservative Americans actually think about democracy? Researchers sat in living rooms, attended church gatherings, and listened, and the findings push back on common assumptions.

All PostsUpdatesWhat Conservative Americans Are Actually Saying About Democracy Published on June 18, 2026On May 20, IHS gathered researchers, practitioners, and funders around new ethnographic research on how conservative Americans understand democracy. The findings cut against some of the field's....

06/17/2026

Deliberative interventions require further study, and IHS invites proposals from scholars working on deliberative democracy research! Potential angles include long-term effects, partisan animosity, the impact of AI, and more.

Submit your proposal by July 10.

Deliberative Democracy and the Effects of DeliberationFor FacultyThe contemporary crisis of liberal democracy has led to an increased interest in deliberative processes and democratic innovation. While deliberative interventions are not a panacea, there’s a growing confidence that citizens’ part...

06/15/2026

This July, IHS is hosting an online graduate research conference where students in the social sciences will present their projects for feedback. Free program with a $100 honorarium.

Visit our website to apply for a spot:

All EventsGraduate StudentGraduate Conference for the Social SciencesZoomJuly 25 – July 26, 2026OverviewPresent your research online and get feedback from faculty at the IHS “Graduate Conference for the Social Sciences.” This online graduate research conference offers students working in the s...

06/11/2026

IHS invites scholars to submit proposals related to nuclear energy! We are particularly interested in funding work that tackles questions concerning regulation, institutional design, and public perception.

Submit your proposal by July 1.

Nuclear energy has re-emerged as a central component of US climate and energy discussions, driven by interest in advanced reactors (e.g., SMRs), growing electricity demand, and renewed attention to permitting reform. However, despite this renewed interest, deployment remains challenging. Nuclear pro...

06/10/2026

Last week, the Institute for Humane Studies joined the Human Rights Foundation in Oslo for the 18th annual Oslo Freedom Forum, one of the world's foremost gatherings of human rights defenders, policy makers, journalists, artists, and technologists working to advance freedom across closed societies.

The three-day forum brings together voices from more than 100 countries, people who have survived political imprisonment, fought authoritarian censorship, and built tools that protect the rights of those living under tyranny.

In this clip, Javier El-Hage, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation, reflects on the relationship between HRF and IHS, and what it means when institutions that share a common commitment to human dignity choose to work together.

06/08/2026

What if your students could ask Hayek about inflation? Press Rawls on distributive justice? Push Locke on the limits of consent?

Classical Liberal Mind puts 29 canonical thinkers in the room, each responding by drawing on their actual published works with chapter-level citations. It's like office hours with the architects of the free society.

Explore for free: https://hubs.la/Q04ksgVl0

06/05/2026

IHS is calling for proposals related to e-governance methods and digital technologies! If your research explores ways that technology can promote freedom and institutional reform, visit our website to learn more about this funding opportunity.

Submit your proposal by July 1.

In a moment marked by rising illiberalism and the declining trust in institutions, there is a growing opportunity to explore the ways that technologies of freedom like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and encryption can be deployed to reduce fiscal waste, build governance capacity, and encourage...

06/01/2026

On June 17, IHS is hosting a discussion in Washington, DC, on whether the IEEPA can justify broad presidential tariff authority.

Aaron Ross Powell will sit down with Ilya Somin, co-counsel in the recent case, to discuss the Supreme Court's landmark ruling.

Doors open at 6 PM. Apply here for a spot:

All EventsFacultyGraduate StudentIEEPA and the Limits of Executive AuthorityWashington, DCJune 17 – June 18, 2026OverviewThe Institute for Humane Studies invites you to join us at the National Press Club on June 17 for a live recording of The Liberalism.org Show hosted by Aaron Ross Powell and fea...

05/27/2026

Cuba ran out of oil on May 14. Solar won't fix the problem—not because the sun isn't shining, but because a Cuban solar transition just trades one type of foreign dependency for another. IHS affiliated scholar Luisa Blanco and coauthor Isabella Elias explain why only a long-term solution will do at The Conversation US.

Short-term humanitarian aid won’t go far in alleviating Cuba’s long-term energy crisis.