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.    

While this report more broadly assesses America’s competitiveness, Chapter 3: The Role of Business in Politics Today and Tomorrow, identifies the role of business in political gridlock, and suggests potential solutions. (See pg 28-36)

This report argues that to meet the demands of democracy, government must be reorganized to effectively carry out the goals set by the people’s representatives, and offers a four-part agenda to rebuild state capacity through hiring reform, procedural streamlining, digital modernization, and stronger feedback systems.

With his background as a former business executive leading companies such as e-Scholastic, the Proactiv Company and Guthy-Renker, Seth Radwell provides both historical context for the political division in the U.S., and a detailed plan on steps we can take to depolarize society. 

Explores the history, emotion, and power of effective argumentation to promote more constructive debates and mutual learning in America. Shares key principles, including removing the focus on winning, prioritizing relationships and engaged listening, considering context, embracing vulnerability, and creating space for transformation. 

Seeks to advance the rule of law by engaging responsible business to support the building and strengthening of legal frameworks and accountable institutions – serving as a complement to, not substitute for, government action. 

This report reviews over a decade of efforts to protect human rights and human rights defenders, emphasizing the long-standing, widely recognized field in which a variety of actors—including businesses, civil society, investors, and UN bodies—play distinct roles. It highlights progress, ongoing challenges, and the need for businesses to remember the rationale and stay committed to responsible engagement in supporting human rights defenders.

The article explains that capitalism and open markets can strengthen democracy by fostering pluralism, competition, and opportunities for independent groups to operate outside government control. It argues the bigger risk is when governments capture businesses through regulation, which reduces that independence and weakens democracy.

This article is a summary of a conversation hosted by Democratic Innovations at Yale's ISPS.  Led by ISPS Director Alan Gerber and ISPS faculty fellows and political science professors Hélène Landemore and Adam Meirowitz, Democratic Innovations serves as a laboratory to identify and test new ideas for improving the quality of democratic representation and governance. It recaps insihgts from the conversation hosted by Landemore and Theophile Penigaud de Mourgues, a postdoctoral associate with Democratic Innovations, and Jonathan Moskovic, advisor in democratic innovation for the president of the French-speaking Brussels Parliament.

This article examines how current economic and political upheavals reflect an ongoing misalignment between business and economies and acceptable societal outcomes. Encourages re-examination of long-held assumptions. 

Civic Alliance assembled a robust playbook for companies to more representatively support a strong democracy. The playbook includes concepts to support one’s business case, questions to ask oneself in building an action plan, and concrete steps to better engage employees, consumers, and other stakeholders.

An overview of the need for CPR and how the Erb Institute’s Corporate Political Responsibility Taskforce supports companies in aligning their approaches to political influence with their commitments to purpose, values, sustainability and stakeholders, while contributing to rebuilding trust in US civic institutions. 

A comprehensive evaluation of corporations that gave significant amounts of money to politicians in key swing states that supported or introduced legislation aimed at voter suppression.

Suggests that a company’s political activities may have more impact on social and environmental sustainability than operations, and argues that corporate political responsibility requires transparency, accountability, and responsibility.

This methodology outlines how the Heritage Election Integrity Scorecard evaluates state election laws across 14 criteria—such as voter roll accuracy, mail ballot security, and transparency in vote counting—to assign quantifiable scores, identify gaps, and provide model legislation. It aims to compare and improve election rules nationwide through clear, consistent, enforceable standards.

This publication frames AI safety as a critical global public good, highlighting challenges in balancing innovation with robust safety measures, ensuring international cooperation, and promoting equity so AI benefits align with sustainable development goals. It calls for clear accountability alongside shared responsibility through collaborative governance to manage AI risks worldwide

Tells the story of Alaska’s landmark adoption of open primaries and ranked-choice voting, showing how these reforms empowered broader voter participation, curbed partisan gatekeeping, and led to more representative, cross-partisan governance—offering a powerful blueprint for restoring trust in democracy. Includes an analysis of the impacts of current election processes and rules -- such as closed primaries, uncontested seats, and winner-take-all elections -- as well as the arguments against the reforms adopted in Alaska.

The Recommendation on Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying and Influence provides concrete guidance for governments in ensuring lobbying and influence activities support effective public decision-making while limiting the risks of undue influence, and it provides a framework to support businesses and other influence actors in conducting their lobbying and influence activities in a responsible manner. 

This guide offers conversation practices and norms that help people move beyond political echo chambers, enabling genuine learning, mutual understanding, and connection across divides.

Summarizes the results of a two-year bipartisan commission studying citizen concerns and how to revitalize democratic participation. Calls for a “fourth founding” of the United States, outlining six imperatives: achieve equal representation, empower voters, ensure political responsiveness, expand civil society, build civic information systems, and nurture a culture of commitment to democracy. 

This study examines the global trend toward populism from 1900 to 2020 and its long-term economic impact. It finds that countries under populist leadership experience a 10% lower GDP per capita after 15 years compared to a plausible non-populist counterfactual, linking populist governance to economic instability, weakened institutions, and heightened risks for businesses and investors.

This report demonstrates that countries investing in stable, healthy systems and norms—such as resilient institutions, inclusive economies, and social trust—are more likely to flourish, while those that don’t face increased risk of future violent conflict.

This Pew Research report highlights inflation, healthcare affordability, and the federal budget deficit as top economic concerns shaping public grievances and trust in business, with money in politics emerging as a critical related issue undermining confidence in institutions.

Patricia McLagan is an author, consultant, and business owner with fifty years’ experience supporting large scale change processes in business and governments globally. From 1983 through 2004, Pat consulted with major South African businesses, government entities, universities, and parastatals, and chaired the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation after returning to the US. This article draws on her personal experience with South African businesses and government entities from 1983 into the 2010s, focusing on what some white South African business leaders did in a time of polarization and potential civil war. 

Housed in Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, is an initiative to explore the role business can play to reduce polarization and improve civic dialogue. Their website offers research and data on dialogue and engagement, showcases corporate initiatives that build common purpose, features news and business leaders’ perspectives, and hosts events to equip current and future leaders to navigate polarization and foster constructive conversations.

This article presents data on structural shifts in U.S. markets over the past two decades, showing how rising concentration moves returns from labor to capital, reduces competition, and limits investment. It distinguishes “good” concentration, driven by efficiency and innovation, from “bad” concentration, driven by rent-seeking. These market changes also influence political trends and policymaking, highlighting the broader economic and governance implications of concentrated industries.

This report presents robust global data showing that democratic erosion—especially in advanced economies—is increasingly tied to higher costs of capital and greater economic volatility. It finds that more polarized environments tend to experience elevated equity risk premiums and reduced investment, posing long-term financial risks. The author urges businesses and investors to proactively incorporate these risks into their strategic planning, treating political instability as a material driver of market performance not just a political issue.

Advances the argument that American CEOs, seemingly more powerful today than ever, have abrogated the key leadership role they once played in addressing national challenges, with grave consequences for American society. 

The Grand Bargain Project finds that Americans across party lines identify the same six priorities—economic opportunity, education, healthcare, national debt, clean energy, and tax reform—as critical, with surveys showing over 90% agreement on their importance. Even more encouraging, when comparing the status quo to a shared package of 35 reforms, 77% preferred the reforms. These results point to rare cross-partisan convergence on both the problems and potential solutions, and a possible place for constructive engagement. 

Allstate’s 2025 research finds that trust in America is at a tipping point. While only 41% of Americans trust people across the U.S., the majority remain optimistic about their communities. The report emphasizes that rebuilding trust starts locally through engagement, leadership, and connection, and offers a three-part strategy: fostering interpersonal trust, investing in community leadership, and scaling trust-building efforts to strengthen democracy and economic resilience

Interviews with 48 Americans from across ideological and demographic groups reveal broad commonality in wanting fairness and clear expectations of government—such as equal rule enforcement, responsive leadership, transparent decision-making, and dignified public services. At the same time, people diverge on what constitutes fairness, with some emphasizing opportunity, others consistent process, and others tangible outcomes that prove fairness is real. Provides a starting point for stakeholder engagement, and suggests approaches that speak to concerns across the political spectrum. 

In a major refresh of its Vision 2050, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development argues that the decade ahead is critical if we are to achieve “9+ billion people living well within planetary boundaries.” They highlight the need to shift political and economic incentives that push companies into short-term behaviors that undermine societal or environmental systems, and propose a new CPR-driven mindset where firms align all policy influence activities to purpose statements and sustainability goals, partner to generate new policy ideas and help ensure relevant stakeholders are at the table.

This article examines how past negotiations, or precedents, shape current negotiations by guiding strategy and providing tested solutions, while also potentially constraining new thinking. It offers practical insights for managers on how to create, apply, and navigate precedents effectively to influence outcomes.

The Framework on transformational governance provides guidelines to help companies deepen business values and strategies, policies and operations and internal and external relationships. The Framework applies to corporate functions from government relations and public affairs to legal and compliance and focuses due diligence processes applied to investment risks and opportunities and environmental and social considerations. The Framework helps to better align governments, civil society and businesses towards a common agenda of leaving no one behind. 

This nonpartisan initiative aims to translate publicly available government data into clear, accessible insights on a variety of topics, including the economy, health, education, and government spending. By presenting information without spin, it aims to empower citizens, policymakers, and businesses to form their own conclusions, supporting the “third side” in polarized debates.

This book explores who works for the government and specifically what work do they do. In a time of increased focus on government workers, this book explores the role of government workers through specific examples and stories. 

Emerging student groups at UC Berkeley are creating spaces fostering respectful connection across political divides by promoting civil discourse, hosting open debates, and offering courses that equip students with skills to engage diverse perspectives—grounded in the belief that seeking knowledge is the primary mission.