Revitalizing American Institutions

“The economic governance principles that drove American peace and prosperity should serve as guideposts to navigate the balance of the twenty-first century. If we choose to empower the individual, encourage the development and dissemination of new ideas, and ensure the fidelity of institutions to their mission, then the United States can once again be a beacon to the world.”

—Leonard and Shirley Ely Senior Fellow John Cogan and Shepard Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow Kevin Warsh in “Reinvigorating Economic Governance,” an essay for the Hoover Institution, April 2022

“From its founding, America has developed an array of institutions to preserve and advance our nation’s liberty and prosperity. Yet today, many citizens have lost confidence in those institutions, challenging their legitimacy, and compromising their missions. In an objective, non-partisan spirit, and drawing on the scholarship, government experience, and convening power of the Hoover Institution, The Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI) will study the reasons behind the crisis in trust, analyze how American institutions are operating, evaluate proposals for reform, and offer policy recommendations to rebuild trust and increase their effectiveness.”

—Maurice R. Greenberg Senior Fellow Brandice Canes-Wrone discussing the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI), May 2023

“The republic may well be in mortal danger if each of the two major parties aspires to make fundamental changes to the political system obviously designed to entrench itself permanently in power. It is especially dangerous that each side firmly believes that only the other side is trying to do this. Democracy works only when the basic rules of the game are accepted. When changing those rules becomes the central object of politics, the stakes become too high — the price of defeat too heavy.”

—Milbank Family Senior Fellow Niall Ferguson in Bloomberg, December 2021