MAGAZINE

The Harvard Political Review is America’s preeminent undergraduate journal of politics and public policy. Since its inception, the HPR has presented balanced, insightful analysis of domestic and international issues. Published quarterly by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics, HPR writers analyze the current and future political climate.

The Harvard Political Review was founded in 1969 by a group of Harvard College undergraduates. The founders envisioned a publication that allowed students to research, write, and edit political commentary in a thoughtful, non-partisan forum. To this day, the HPR does not take magazine-wide editorial positions. While individual articles have distinct, critical viewpoints, the magazine as a whole does not represent any particular ideology. The HPR promotes sensible discourse by publishing all types of well-reasoned articles.

Over the past generation, the Harvard Political Review has incubated some of the best political minds in America. Among the magazine’s alumni are Al Gore, Jr. (Former Vice President and Nobel Peace Laureate), E.J. Dionne, Jr. (Washington Post columnist and author of Why Americans Hate Politics), Jonathan Alter (Newsweek Senior Editor and columnist), and Jeffrey Sachs (Director of the Columbia Earth Institute). More recently, HPR writers have won the National Press Club Award for Outstanding College Political Writing. In the past five years, members of the HPR staff have won the Rhodes, Fulbright, Marshall, and Truman Scholarships – and earned selection to the USA Today Academic All-American Team.

One of the hallmarks of the Harvard Political Review is its commitment to in-depth, intelligent interviews with the people who shape politics. In recent years, the HPR has featured interviews with political, cultural, and intellectual leaders such as Gerald Ford, Walter Mondale, John McCain, John Edwards, Newt Gingrich, and countless others.

The Covers section presents a series of articles intended to closely examine all sides of a pressing political issue. The United States and World sections offer articles on a variety of topics, addressing the breadth and diversity of issues important in our nation and the world. Along with showcase interviews, the magazine includes Books and Arts, which probes at the intersection of politics, literature, and culture; the Front Section, a light-hearted look at what’s unconventional and humorous in the world of public affairs; and the Endpaper, a work of personal commentary upon an current issue of pressing political or social importance.