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. News HFG Grants HFG Welcomes its 2025 Emerging Scholars Relationship aggression, police violence against civilians, political violence from above and below are among the problems the 2025 Emerging Scholars are pursuing on four continents. Conversations The Polarization Project ‘The Potential for Terrorism Is Pretty Frightening’: A Conversation with Gary LaFree In Practice Lessons from Research In Ukraine and Elsewhere, Is Third-Party Diplomacy Helpful in Ending Wars? Publications Violence, Politics & Democracy "We Want You To Be A Proud Boy": How Social Media Facilitates Political Intimidation and Violence An HFG-funded report details how social media use contributes to political strife. News HFG Grants Introducing the 2025–2026 African Fellows Publications See all publications Violence, Politics & Democracy Polarization and Violent Threats to Democratic Systems This report from Salzburg Global's Polarization and Violent Threats to Democratic Systems program aims to identify ways to mitigate the threat of political violence and address the dangers that polarization and political violence pose to democratic systems. 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 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 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 Violence, Politics & Democracy "We Want You To Be A Proud Boy" An HFG-funded report details how social media use contributes to political strife. Read Report HFG Report The Impact of Climate Change on Conflict This HFG report, authored by Dr. Vally Koubi, analyzes the existing research on the relationship between climate and conflict. It includes key takeaways, policy recommendations, and areas for future study. 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 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
