Nancy L. Rosenblum and Russell Muirhead at The Charles Hotel

Join Harvard Book Store and The Charles Hotel as they welcome Nancy L. Rosenblum and Russell Muirhead for a discussion of their new book Ungoverning: The Attack on the Administrative State and the Politics of Chaos. They will be joined in conversation by James Carroll, author and founding member of Writers for Democratic Action. This event is held in observance of National Voter Registration Day, a nonpartisan civic holiday dedicated to celebrating our democracy. 

Ticketing

There are two in-person  ticket options available for this event. There will be a book signing after the presentation. 

1. In-Person Book-Included Admission Ticket: Includes admission for one and one hardcover copy of Ungoverning. Books bundled with admission tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up at the bookstore beforehand. 
2. In-Person Admission-Only Ticket: Includes admission for one. Please note, there is a limited number of Admission-Only Tickets available for this event. Books will be available for purchase at the event. 

This event will also be available to view LIVE on Zoom. To RSVP to watch the event on Zoom, please CLICK HERE. Viewers watching the event on Zoom that would like to purchase a copy of Ungoverning can do so by ordering it online at shop.harvard.com.  

For questions about the event or ticketing please email events@harvard.com. For questions about the venue please email Reception@CharlesHotel.com. 

About Ungoverning

In this unsettling book, Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum trace how ungoverning—the deliberate effort to dismantle the capacity of government to do its work—has become a malignant part of politics. Democracy depends on a government that can govern, and that requires what’s called administration. The administrative state is made up of the vast array of departments and agencies that conduct the essential business of government, from national defense and disaster response to implementing and enforcing public policies of every kind. Ungoverning chronicles the reactionary movement that demands dismantling the administrative state. The demand is not for goals that can be met with policies or programs. When this demand is frustrated, as it must be, the result is an invitation to violence.

Muirhead and Rosenblum unpack the idea of ungoverning through many examples of the politics of destruction. They show how ungoverning disables capacities that took generations to build—including the administration of free and fair elections. They detail the challenges faced by officials who are entrusted with running the government and who now face threats and intimidation from those who would rather bring it crashing down—and replace the regular processes of governing with chaotic personal rule.

Praise for Ungoverning

“At a time when we face ever more pressing and complex challenges in need of large-scale state action—from climate crises to pandemics to persistent inequities—we also face a powerful new form of politics specifically geared toward the deconstruction of state capacity. In this urgent and important book, Muirhead and Rosenblum provide an invaluable terminology and framework for understanding how reactionary fervor, personalistic politics, and systematic dismantling of governing institutions constitute a fundamental threat to democracy. This book articulates the tough challenge ahead to rebuild and relegitimate the most crucial and most easily overlooked feature of democratic governance: the state itself.” —K. Sabeel Rahman, author of Democracy against Domination

“Americans, like residents of every country, are familiar with arguments about what government should do, and how it should do it. But we are not used to controversy over how well government should act. Attacking the state’s capacity to carry out tasks that have been democratically chosen is an insidious, powerful way to undermine democracy itself—along with liberty and equality. Muirhead and Rosenblum point us toward an urgent issue; we must pay attention and stop nonconsensual ungoverning.” —Jennifer L. Hochschild, author of Facing Up to the American Dream: Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation

“Ungoverning is an essential book for our moment, starting with a title that deserves to become a touchstone in our political conversation. Brilliantly drawing together philosophical reflections on democracy’s obligations to its citizens with a lively practical sense of how government works, Muirhead and Rosenblum offer a passionate defense of the now contested work of making our society fairer, safer, and more responsive.”—E. J. Dionne Jr., author of Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent

Event Location

This event will take place outside at One Reason Garden Bar at The Charles Hotel, located adjacent to the Harvard Kennedy School in the heart of Harvard Square.