Knowledge against violence The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation examines enduring and urgent problems of violence, such as war, crime, and human aggression. Through basic and applied research, we aim to understand the causes, manifestation, and control of violence. Conversations Violence, Politics & Democracy Project ‘There Are Very Few Democracies That Are as Polarized as We Are Today’: A Conversation with Jennifer McCoy As we lose interpersonal trust, and pernicious polarization and stereotyping take hold, that may lead people to be more willing to tolerate political violence. Publications Violence, Politics & Democracy Report: How Social Media Fuels Political Violence News HFG Grants 2025 Emerging Scholars Application Now Open News HFG Grants 2025-2026 African Fellows Application Now Open The Harry Frank Guggenheim African Fellow Awards recognize emerging African scholars studying aspects of violence on or directly related to the African continent. News Foundation News HFG Seeks Senior Communications Manager Publications See all publications Violence, Politics & Democracy "We Want You To Be A Proud Boy" ‘We Want You To Be A Proud Boy’: How Social Media Facilitates Political Intimidation and Violence, an HFG-funded report from the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, details how social media use can enable or contribute to political strife. Based on a review of more than 400 social science studies, the report by Paul M. Barrett identifies particular features of social media platforms that make them susceptible to exploitation and suggests how to mitigate the dangers. Read Report Violence, Politics & Democracy Government Legitimacy, Social Solidarity, and American Homicide in Historical Perspective In Government Legitimacy, Social Solidarity, and American Homicide in Historical Perspective, Randolph Roth, professor of history and sociology at The Ohio State University, argues that shifts in citizens’ beliefs about the legitimacy of their government and the character of political leadership, feelings of affinity for — or alienation from — fellow citizens, and acceptance or resentment of their place in the social order affect the frequency with which Americans kill each other. Read Report HFG Report International Sanctions against Violent Actors In International Sanctions against Violent Actors, Dursun Peksen observes that international sanctions rarely operate on the ground as their proponents intend. They succeed in only about 30 percent of cases and often prompt harsh treatment of a targeted state’s citizens. Read Report Research and Policy in Brief The White Power Movement at War on Democracy In The White Power Movement at War on Democracy, University of Chicago historian Kathleen Belew traces the origins of the white power movement and connects its most violent manifestations—from the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995 to the 2021 siege of the U.S. Capitol—as part of a global, distributed effort to assert and maintain white dominance. Read Report HFG Report Is Bail Reform Causing an Increase in Crime? In Is Bail Reform Causing an Increase in Crime?, criminologists Don Stemen and David Olson examine crime rates in eleven states and cities that adopted bail reforms, finding “no clear or obvious pattern” connecting bail reform to changes in violent crime rates. Read Report HFG Report At the Crossroads: Behind the Rise in Gun Violence in New York and Other American Cities HFG's 'At the Crossroads' series concludes with the publication of “Behind the Rise in Gun Violence in New York and Other American Cities,” a compilation of the twelve interviews conducted by Harry Frank Guggenheim Distinguished Fellow of Practice Greg Berman with an essay illuminating common themes and practical approaches to ending such violence. Read Report See all publications