Free Speech & Partisanship in the Commercial Square

Convergence Compass is an online learning program for business, government, higher education and civic actors that teaches the psychology of division, dialogue strategies, and collaborative problem-solving. Developed from the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution's innovative methods, it equips participants to build trust, bridge divides, engage constructively on contentious issues, design effective processes —even when stakeholders hold strongly divergent views.

OpenSecrets is a nonpartisan, nonprofit transparency platform that tracks money in U.S. politics, compiling and analyzing campaign finance, lobbying, outside spending, and personal finance data for politicians. It offers searchable tools and educational resources that reveal how money flows around elections and policymaking, supporting evidence-based oversight by media, investors, employees, and the public.

This interactive database tracks corporate and individual contributions to 527 political organizations, offering transparency into issue-advocacy groups, political committees, and their funders. It enables stakeholders to analyze donation patterns, compare companies, and evaluate alignment between stated values, lobbying positions, and political spending, supporting stronger governance and oversight of political influence. 

This report outlines policy frameworks for strengthening Europe’s preparedness and governance capacity in response to rapid advances in artificial intelligence. It examines regulatory coordination, democratic oversight, geopolitical competitiveness, and institutional resilience, arguing that AI governance must balance innovation, public trust, and long-term societal stability across economic and political systems. 

This explainer outlines the historical and constitutional significance of the 13th and 14th Amendments, emphasizing their role in establishing equal protection, citizenship, and inclusive governance principles. It connects constitutional protections to contemporary debates around equity, participation, and democratic legitimacy in American civic and institutional life. 

This commentary argues that rising authoritarianism represents a material risk to investors by undermining rule of law, regulatory stability, and democratic institutions. It explores how political systems influence capital markets and suggests investors and companies must incorporate governance and democracy risks into investment analysis.

Businesses United in Leading Democracy is a coalition initiative encouraging companies to support democratic participation, civic trust, and institutional resilience through nonpartisan engagement. The initiative promotes collaboration among businesses committed to protecting democratic norms, strengthening civic systems, and encouraging responsible corporate leadership in periods of political polarization and democratic strain. 

This article argues that US political risk is no longer an abstract concern for boards and investors – it is an immediate governance challenge.  Specifically, it explores how escalating polarization, regulatory volatility, and election-related instability require enhanced governance safeguards to protect enterprise value – and proposes two tools that can help.

Why this resource matters 
It outlines the rationale for embedding CPR in the governance of public affairs and recommends Third Side Strategies’ Principled Influence: A Guide to Strengthening Public Affairs Practices in Polarized Environments. (NOTE: This article is authored by Stephen M. Davis, a member of The CPR Hub’s Board of Advisors.)

This guidance document from B Labs outlines how companies can develop responsible lobbying policies that align with new B Corp Standards, based on their stated business purpose. It provides practical recommendations on policy alignment, oversight, disclosure, and accountability mechanisms to ensure political influence activities align with the responsible lobbying policy. 

This analysis examines how Hungary’s political system under Viktor Orbán weakened democratic institutions, judicial independence, and competitive markets through centralized political and economic control. It explores the relationship between authoritarian governance, market distortion, and declining institutional accountability, highlighting implications for investors, businesses, and democratic stability. 

This study analyzes how corporate political advocacy influences online consumer behavior and user-generated content. It examines how political positioning by brands shapes engagement, sentiment, and digital discourse, highlighting the reputational and relational consequences of corporate participation in contentious public issues. 

This report by BSR explores how a strategic context defined by fragmentation, geopolitical tension, contested information, and uneven economic and social conditions impacts companies' sustainability strategies. As climate impacts, inequality, and technological disruption accelerate, the report argues that sustainability strategies should be sharper, more resilient, and more closely tied to enterprise priorities. 

The authors also argue that business plays a critical role in safeguarding the stable operating environment and bedrock institutions necessary for its success.

This handbook provides practical guidance for fostering belonging, inclusion, and social cohesion across communities and institutions. It explores how organizations can strengthen trust, civic participation, and cross-cultural understanding while addressing polarization, exclusion, and identity-based division in increasingly diverse societies.

This report is based on interviews with twenty-nine partners and associates from law firms that responded to 2025-26 Executive Orders and other federal challenges with a wide variety of strategies -- from compliance to lawsuits.  

The focus was on the strategic calculations driving decisions by individual lawyers and law firms, regardless of the strategy they took. The report concludes that fear significantly magnifies perceptions of risk, collective action is critical in responding to pressure, and business leaders have a crucial stake in upholding rule of law, for its own sake and as a cornerstone of the free market system.

This report reveals a decline in trust, and how majorities now hold grievances against governments, business and the rich. Historically strong trust in “my employer” is complicated when employees hold grievances.  Argues that business should respond in concert with other actors, investing in local communities, quality information, and job skills.    

This article argues anthropogenic emissions are driven by customer preferences and that such preferences can shift with improved information, Karthik Ramanna advocates for a new approach: an economy-wide system of reliable and comparable accounts of the embedded emissions in products to allow customers (and investors) to make better-informed decisions aligned with underlying preferences.   

Part II extends the pro-market argument, outlining a global accounting standard that would embed decarbonization throughout the economy, while remaining technological neutral about how emissions are reduced. It examiniescurrent politicies and reporting standards intended to advance emissions and challenges their top-down approach as contributing to ideological stalemate, proposing that a product-level accounting system could address this barrier.  

The White House AI portal lays out a a multi-pronged national strategy to boost U.S. leadership in AI by investing in research, encouraging adoption across industries, and preparing the workforce for AI-driven changes. It highlights a commitment to developing AI responsibly by setting ethical guidelines, ensuring transparency and privacy, and fostering cooperation across government agencies to address risks and build public trust.

This report highlights the growing bridge-building movement in the United States and provides concrete examples of organizations doing this work in different settings, including policymaking, workplaces, faith communities, education, and volunteering.  

A Gallup-Bentley University survey shows that only 38% of U.S. adults believe businesses should take public stances on current events, a decline from 48% the previous year, reflecting a broader trend toward preferring corporate neutrality in political matters.