James S. Fishkin
James S. Fishkin (born 1948) is an American political scientist and communications scholar. He holds the Janet M. Peck Chair in International Communication in the Department of Communication at Stanford University, where he serves as a professor of communication and, by courtesy, political science. He also acts as the director of Stanford’s Deliberative Democracy Lab. Fishkin is widely cited for his work on deliberative democracy, with his proposition of Deliberative Polling in 1988 being particularly influential. Together with Robert Luskin, Fishkin's work has led to over 100 deliberative polls in 28 countries. Career
Fishkin earned his BA and Ph.D. in political science from Yale University, and his second Ph.D. in philosophy from King's College, Cambridge University. He currently leads the Deliberative Democracy Lab at Stanford University. He has held numerous fellowships, including a Guggenheim fellowship, a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and a visiting fellow commoner role at Trinity College, Cambridge. Fishkin was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014. Deliberative polling

The deliberative opinion poll, a concept proposed by Fishkin, involves gathering a representative random sample of people to deliberate on a specific issue. Participants are provided with briefing materials, carefully designed to represent all viewpoints in a balanced manner. After a day or more of deliberation, they are asked to register their considered opinions. These decisions have been used in various contexts such as electing candidates in primaries (e.g., in Greece), recommending policy decisions (e.g., in China and Texas), among other applications. It also served as the foundation for "Power and the People," a Channel 4 program on which Fishkin consulted, airing in the UK from 1994 to 1999. References

Publications

Books

Deliberative democracy 
 Fishkin, James S. Democracy When the People Are Thinking: Revitalizing Our Politics Through Public Deliberation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. Fishkin, James S. When the People Speak: Deliberative Democracy and Public Consultation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Paperback edition, 2010. Japanese edition, 2010; Chinese edition, in press. Ackerman, Bruce; Fishkin, James S. Deliberation Day. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2004. Laslett, Peter; Fishkin, James S. Debating Deliberative Democracy. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003. Fishkin, James S. The Voice of the People: Public Opinion and Democracy. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1995; expanded paperback edition, Fall 1997. Fishkin, James S. The Dialogue of Justice: Toward a Self-Reflective Society. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1992; paperback edition, 1996. Fishkin, James S. Democracy and Deliberation: New Directions for Democratic Reform. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1991; paperback edition, 1993. Laslett, Peter; Fishkin, James S. (Eds). Philosophy, Politics and Society, Sixth Series: Justice Between Age Groups and Generations. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1992. Political theory and philosophy 
 Goodin, Robert E.; Fishkin, James S. (Eds). Population and Political Theory (PPAS - Philosophy, Politics & Society). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Fishkin, James S. Beyond Subjective Morality: Ethical Reasoning and Political Philosophy. Yale University Press, 1986. Fishkin, James S. Justice, Equal Opportunity and the Family. Yale University Press,1984. Fishkin, James S. Limits of Obligation. Yale University Press, 1982. Fishkin, James S. Tyranny and Legitimacy: A Critique of Political Theories. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979. Journal papers 

 Sandefur, J., Birdsall, N., Fishkin, J., & Moyo, M. (2022). Deliberative Democracy and the Resource Curse: A Nationwide Experiment in Tanzania. World Politics, 74(4), 564-609. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0043887122000090
 Fishkin, J. (2021). Deliberative Public Consultation via Deliberative Polling: Criteria and Methods. Hastings Cent. Rep., 51(52), S19-S24. https://doi.org/10.1002/hast.1316
 Fishkin, J., Siu, A., Diamond, L. ., & Bradburn, N. (2021). Is Deliberation an Antidote to Extreme Partisan Polarization? Reflections on “America in One Room”. American Political Science Review, 115(4), 1464-1481. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055421000642
 Luskin, R., Sood, G., Fishkin, J. ., & Hahn, K. . (2021). Deliberative Distortions? Homogenization, Polarization, and Domination in Small Group Discussions. British Journal of Political Science, (2022), 21. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123421000168
 Wang, R., Fishkin, J., & Luskin, R. (2020). Does Deliberation Increase Public-Spiritedness?. Social Science Quarterly, 101(6), 2163-2182. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12863
 Fishkin, J. (2019). Response to Critics: Toward the Reform of Actually Existing Democracies. The Good Society, 27, 190-210. https://doi.org/10.5325/goodsociety.27.1-2.0190
 Kim, N., Fishkin, J., & Luskin, R. (2018). Intergroup Contact in Deliberative Contexts: Evidence From Deliberative Polls. Journal of Communication, 68(6), 1029-1051. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqy056
 Fishkin, J. (2018). Random Assemblies for Lawmaking? Prospects and Limits. Politics & Society, 46(3), 359-379. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032329218789889
 Fishkin, J., & Zandanshatar, G. (2017, September 17). Deliberative Polling for Constitutional Change in Mongolia: An Unprecedented Experiment. Constitution Net. Fishkin, J., Mayega, R., Atuyambe, L., Tumuhamye, N., Ssentongo, J., Siu, A., & Bazeyo, W. (2017). Applying Deliberative Democracy in Africa: Uganda’s First Deliberative Polls. Daedalus, 146(3), 140-154. https://doi.org/10.1162/DAED_ a_00453

 
 
 
 
 
 
 Fishkin, James S.; List, Christian; McLean, Iain; Luskin, Robert (2002). Can deliberation induce greater preference structuration: evidence from deliberative opinion polls? Paper presented at the meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, 26 August – 1 September. Living people
1948 births
Stanford University Department of Communication faculty
Yale University alumni