David King

Lecturer in Public Policy
Kennedy School
Office Address
Littauer-303
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 36
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-495-1665
Fax: 617-496-5960
Email: david_king@Harvard.Edu
Assistant
Karen Armstrong (617-496-7388)
David King

Profile

David C. King is Lecturer in Public Policy at The Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Lecturer in Government at the Harvard Government Department. He lectures on the U.S.Congress, Political Parties, and Election Reform. Professor King joined the Harvard faculty in 1992.

In the wake of the 2000 presidential elections, Professor King directed the Task Force on Election Administration for the National Commission on Election Reform, chaired by former presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. That effort culminated in landmark voting rights legislation signed by President Bush in late 2002. He later oversaw an evaluation and new management structure for the Boston Election Department.

David King is the faculty director of Harvards program for Newly Elected Members of the U.S. Congress. He has run similar programs for the State Duma of the Russian Federation, and he has advised on legislative design issues in several countries, including South Korea, Nicaragua, Chile, and Bolivia. Along with John Della Volpe at SocialSphere.net, Professor King has overseen Harvard's surveys of young peoples interests in community service and politics.

David King is co-author of The Generation of Trust: Public Confidence in the U.S. Military Since Vietnam , (2003), author of Turf Wars: How Congressional Committees Claim Jurisdiction (1997), and co-editor of Why People Don't Trust Government (1997).

Courses

Fall

Spring

  • PAL-210 The U.S. Congress and Law Making

Media Expertise

David King welcomes media inquiries on the following subjects:

Additional experts may be found by clicking on each subject listed. You may contact faculty directly or if you need assistance contact the Communications Office at 617-495-1115.

Research

Research for a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Academic Journals
    • Belenky, Alexander S., and David C. King. "A Mathematical Model for Estimating the Potential Margin of State Undecided Voters for a Candidate in a U.S. Federal Election." Mathematical and Computer Modelling 45.5-6 (March 2007): 585-593.
    • King, David C. "Partisan Mobilization Campaigns in the Field: Results from a Statewide Turnout Experiment in Michigan." Political Research Quarterly 59 (March 2006): 85-98.
    • King, David C., and Richard E. Matland. "Sex and the Grand Old Party." American Politics Research 31.6 (November 2003).
    • King, David C., and Richard Zeckhauser. "Congressional Vote Options." Legislative Studies Quarterly 28.3 (2003): 387-411.
    • King, David C., and Miles Pomper. "Congress and the Contingent Influence of Diaspora Lobbies: U.S. Foreign Policy toward Armenia." Journal of Armenian Studies (Summer 2004).
  • Book Chapters
    • Groseclose, Tim, and David C. King. "Committee Theories Reconsidered." Congress Reconsidered. Ed. Lawrence C. Dodd and Bruce I. Oppenheimer. CQ, 2001.
    • Matland, Richard E., and David C. King. "Women as Candidates in Congressional Elections." Women Transforming Congress. Ed. Cindy Simon Rosenthal. University of Oklahoma Press, 2002.
    • King, David C. "Catching Voters in the Web." Governance.com: Democracy in the Information Age. Ed. Elaine Kamarck and Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Brookings Institution, 2002.
    • King, David C., and David Morehouse. "Moving Voters in the 2000 Presidential Campaign: Local Visits and Local Media." Lights, Camera, Campaign. Ed. David Schultz. Peter Lang, 2004.
  • Books
    • King, David C. The Generation of Trust: How the U.S. Military Has Regained the Public's Confidence Since Vietnam. American Enterprise Institute, 2003.
  • Magazine and Newspaper Articles
    • King, David C. "Constitutional Reform in Bolivia: The 2005 Presidential Election." ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America (Spring 2006): 11-15.
  • Op-Eds
    • Gerwin, Leslie E., and David C. King. "New Orleans Vote Raises Fairness Issue." Boston Globe, April 18, 2006.
    • King, David C. "Youth Came Through with Big Turnout." Boston Globe, November 4, 2004.
    • King, David C. "Engage Children in Election Education." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 16, 2004.
    • King, David C. "The Politics of DisIntegration." Spectacle.org, August 18, 2004.
    • King, David C. "The Boomers' Babies." Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2003.
    • King, David C. "Election Reform as an Unfunded Mandate." Boston Review, October/November 2001.
  • Research Papers/Reports
    • King, David C. "Redefining Political Attitudes and Activism." Harvard University, Institute of Politics, April 11, 2006.
    • King, David C. "Redefining Political Attitudes and Activism." Harvard University, Institute of Politics, November 16, 2005.
    • King, David C. "Coming of Age: The Political Awakening of a Generation." Harvard University, Institute of Politics, October 2004.
    • King, David C. "College and University Voter Mobilization Efforts." Harvard University, Institute of Politics, September 2004.
    • King, David C. "Are You Talking to Me? A Guide to Reaching Young Voters." Harvard University, Institute of Politics, August 2004.
    • King, David C., Richard Zeckhauser, and Mark Kim. "The Management Performance of the U.S. States." KSG Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP04-028, July 2004.
    • King, David C. "Congress, Polarization, and Fidelity to the Median Voter." Working Paper, March 10, 2003.
    • King, David C. "Selling International News." Working Paper, December 9, 2002.
    • King, David C. "Party Competition and Fidelity to the Median Voter in the U.S. Congress." Working Paper, December 18, 2001.
    • Borck, Jonathan C., David C. King, and Richard Zeckhauser. "Contribution Shares in Alliances." Proceedings of the IASTED International Conference on Alliances, Mergers, and Acquisitions, 2003.
  • Reviews
    • King, David C. Review of Disjointed Pluralism: Institutional Innovation and the Development of the U.S. Congress, by Eric Schickler. American Political Science Review, September 2002.