James S. Fishkin
Encyclopedia
James S. Fishkin is a professor in the Department of Communication at Stanford University
. Fishkin is a widely cited scholar on his work on Deliberative democracy
. Along with Robert Luskin (no connection to Karl Rove's attorney of the same name), he has pioneered a model of polling called the Deliberative Poll
.
. He holds a second Ph.D. in Philosophy from Cambridge University, United Kingdom.
takes a representative random sample of the people and brings the people together at a place to deliberate about an issue. The people are provided briefing materials which are made in concert with all interested parties and done in a way so as to represent each position in a balanced way. The people are asked to vote after a day or more of deliberation. The decisions made by such arrangements have been alternatively used to elect candidates in primaries (Greece) or recommend policy decisions (China, Texas) etc. It was the basis of the The People's Parliament
, a Channel 4
program on which Fishkin was a consultant that aired in the UK (1994-1999).
More than 40 such deliberative polls have now taken place around the world including China, Greece, UK etc.
Deliberative democracy
Political theory and philosophy
Prominent journal papers
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. Fishkin is a widely cited scholar on his work on Deliberative democracy
Deliberative democracy
Deliberative democracy is a form of democracy in which public deliberation is central to legitimate lawmaking. It adopts elements of both consensus decision-making and majority rule. Deliberative democracy differs from traditional democratic theory in that authentic deliberation, not mere...
. Along with Robert Luskin (no connection to Karl Rove's attorney of the same name), he has pioneered a model of polling called the Deliberative Poll
Deliberative opinion poll
The deliberative opinion poll is a form of opinion poll that incorporates the principles of deliberative democracy and sortition.The concept was described by James S. Fishkin in his 1991 book "Democracy and Deliberation". Dr...
.
Career
Fishkin received his BA degree and Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. He holds a second Ph.D. in Philosophy from Cambridge University, United Kingdom.
Deliberative Poll
The Deliberative Opinion PollDeliberative opinion poll
The deliberative opinion poll is a form of opinion poll that incorporates the principles of deliberative democracy and sortition.The concept was described by James S. Fishkin in his 1991 book "Democracy and Deliberation". Dr...
takes a representative random sample of the people and brings the people together at a place to deliberate about an issue. The people are provided briefing materials which are made in concert with all interested parties and done in a way so as to represent each position in a balanced way. The people are asked to vote after a day or more of deliberation. The decisions made by such arrangements have been alternatively used to elect candidates in primaries (Greece) or recommend policy decisions (China, Texas) etc. It was the basis of the The People's Parliament
The People's Parliament
The People's Parliament was a Channel 4 programme in which 90-100 randomly selected citizens, sitting in a mockup of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, debated and voted on controversial issues. Each programme started with a motion that was then debated by a proposer and witnesses for each...
, a Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
program on which Fishkin was a consultant that aired in the UK (1994-1999).
More than 40 such deliberative polls have now taken place around the world including China, Greece, UK etc.
Publications
BooksDeliberative democracy
Deliberative democracy
Deliberative democracy is a form of democracy in which public deliberation is central to legitimate lawmaking. It adopts elements of both consensus decision-making and majority rule. Deliberative democracy differs from traditional democratic theory in that authentic deliberation, not mere...
- Democracy and Deliberation: New Directions for Democratic Reform (1991)
- The Dialogue of Justice: Toward a Self-Reflective Society (1992)
- The Voice of the People: Public Opinion and Democracy (1995)
- Deliberation Day (Yale Press, 2004) (with Bruce AckermanBruce AckermanBruce Arnold Ackerman is an American constitutional law scholar. He is a Sterling Professor at Yale Law School and one of the most frequently cited legal academics in the United States....
) - Debating Deliberative Democracy (with Peter LaslettPeter Laslett-Biography:Born Thomas Peter Ruffell Laslett and educated at the Watford Grammar School for Boys, Peter Laslett studied history at St John's College, Cambridge in 1935 and graduated with a double first in 1938. During the war he learned Japanese and worked at Bletchley Park and Washington decoding...
) (Blackwell Publishing Limited, 2003)
Political theory and philosophy
- Tyranny and Legitimacy: A Critique of Political Theories (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979)
- Beyond Subjective Morality: Ethical Reasoning and Political Philosophy (Yale University Press, 1986)
- Limits of Obligation (Yale University Press, 1982)
- Justice, Equal Opportunity and the Family (Yale University Press,1984)
Prominent journal papers
- Considered Opinions: Deliberative Polling in Britain (With RC Luskin, R Jowell) (British Journal of Political Science, 2002)
- Moral Reasoning and Political Ideology (Journal of Personality and Social PsychologyJournal of Personality and Social PsychologyThe Journal of Personality and Social Psychology is a monthly psychology journal of the American Psychological Association. It is considered one of the top journals in the fields of social and personality psychology. Its focus is on empirical research reports; however, specialized theoretical,...
, 1973) - Experimenting with a Democratic Ideal: Deliberative Polling and Public Opinion (with RC Luskin) (Acta Politica, 2005)
- Can Deliberation Induce Greater Preference Structuration? Evidence from Deliberative Opinion Polls (With C List, I McLean, R Luskin) (Proceedings of the American Political Science Association, 2000)
- The Quest for Deliberative Democracy (with RC Luskin) (The Good Society, 1999)
External links
- Stanford Biography
- Center for Deliberative Democracy
- Boston Review article by Fishkin - Nation in a room
- American Prospect article on Deliberation Day coauthored with Bruce Ackerman
- Luca Corchia, Il sondaggio deliberativo di James S. Fishkin, in «Il Trimestrale del Laboratorio. The Lab's Quarterly», Pisa, Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali, 1, 2007, ss. 20