About the Authors

Danielle Allen, the author of the introduction to the study guide ("What is Democracy?"), is Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University and professor in Harvard’s Department of Government and Graduate School of Education. She is a political theorist who has published broadly in democratic theory, political sociology, and the history of political thought. Her most recent books are Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality (2014), and Education and Equality (2016). Her monthly column on politics appears in The Washington Post.

Eric Chenoweth is the principal author of the Democracy Web study guide. Mr. Chenoweth was co-founder of the Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe (IDEE), which was established in 1985, and has served as its co-director since 1994. IDEE provided assistance to the dissident and human rights movements that brought about the democracy revolutions of 1989-91 and since that time it has helped civic and political activists in the region try to achieve and institutionalize democracy and overcome communism's oppressive legacy (see http://idee-us.org and www.idee.org). From 1987 to 1993, Mr. Chenoweth worked in the International Affairs Departments of the American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO and was responsible for the AFT's Education for Democracy/International project. Since 2005, Mr. Chenoweth has also been a consultant for the Albert Shanker Institute working on a variety of projects, including as author of Democracy’s Champion: Albert Shanker and the International Impact of the AFT.

Mr. Chenoweth was editor-in-chief of Uncaptive Minds (1988-97) and his articles on democracy and democracy movements have appeared in many languages in a wide range of opinion pages and journals, including American Educator and American Teacher. He graduated in 1985 from Columbia College in political science.