Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Applauds Harvard for “Assertion of Agency” at IOP Forum

Former United States ambassador to the United Nations Samantha J. Power lauded Harvard for its “assertion of agency” under federal pressure at an Institute of Politics forum Monday, arguing that its actions reflected a burgeoning pattern of resistance amid political strife.

Power, also a public policy professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, discussed the shift in conversation with Debora T. Cahn, the creator of the show “The Diplomat,” and the show’s leading actress, Keri L. Russell. “The Diplomat” premiered on Netflix in April 2023 and follows Kate Wyler — played by Russell — a diplomat serving as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom as international tensions mount.

Cahn, who drew on Power’s experiences while creating “The Diplomat,” said she had observed a marked shift in political attitudes in Washington, D.C. when visiting the city for the show. Last year, she said, she saw a “funeral for democracy,” with people in “complete existential despair over the wreckage that was falling around them.”

This year, she said she perceived more optimism as midterm elections approached.

“There is a focus on the future and on what is possible now and what can change and might change that I find overwhelmingly inspiring,” Cahn said.

Power connected Cahn’s observations to her own experiences in Washington. After serving as ambassador from 2013 to 2017, Power led the U.S. Agency for International Development under the Biden administration, leading initiatives from vaccine distribution during the Covid-19 pandemic to international agricultural infrastructure.

The Trump administration closed the decades-old program in July 2025, laying off thousands of workers amid broader cuts to the federal workforce spearheaded by a newly created Department of Government Efficiency.

Powers said the dismantling of agencies like USAID last year had been accompanied by “complacency and complicity” — but added that she was heartened by a “restoration of agency” from institutions like Harvard.

Last year, Harvard sued the Trump administration twice — challenging its decision to freeze billions lost in federal funding to the University and revoke its ability to enroll international students. Both cases are currently winding their way through the courts.

“It’s been amazing over the last year to see the assertion of agency by institutions like Harvard University, by law firms, by particular judges, including Trump judges, who decided that it just doesn’t matter who appointed you to the job,” Power said. “Like the rule of law is the rule of law.”

The fourth season of “The Diplomat,” released earlier this month, examines internal political dissent from authority. In one scene, Wyler disobeys a directive from the U.S. president when delivering a message to the British prime minister.

Power said that the importance of internal pushback extended beyond the screen — saying dissent had been “chilled” with the layoffs and demotions of federal employees who opposed particular policies, as well as retaliation against others attempting to check presidential power.

“One of the reasons governments fail, and authoritarian governments often make bad decisions, is they don’t have checks and balances. They don’t have dissent. They’re not stress-testing opinions and policy courses of action in the way that is adaptive in terms of getting better outcomes,” Power said.

“The Diplomat” has not been publicly renewed for a fifth season. But Cahn appeared to allude to a continuation of the show when discussing her D.C. visits during the forum.

“And this year — not that we’re doing another season because it hasn’t been announced,” Cahn said, “but whatever. I really trust the cone of silence that is all of you.”

“Oh, now I’m in trouble,” she added.