When The People Speak Deliberative Democracy and Public Consultation

"James Fishkin is an impressive individual...Fishkin has done what (to my knowledge) no other democratic theorist has attempted, namely, to design his own democratic institution--the deliberative poll (DP)...The [accompanying DVD] offers an indispensable insight into how a DP works and will play a useful pedagogical function: It will enliven discussions on democratic innovations in the seminar room and also enlighten those many critics of Fishkin who clearly do not understand or appreciate the designs dynamics."--Perspectives on Politics"After many years of perfecting the art of deliberative polling from his place as director of the Center for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford University, Fishkin offers fresh evidence of the promise the model holds for democracy...Wonderful research; strongly recommended."--CHOICE"It is a wonderful, rare mix of deep political theory and careful attention to the practical challenges to making democracy work." --Sidney Milkis, University of Virginia Professor of Politics "Intriguing...a portrait of public opinion that is more thoughtful than top-of-the-head responses to pollster questions." --Walter Shapiro, PoliticsDaily.com "James Fishkin has spearheaded an ambitious project to marry the modern science of opinion polling with the ideal of democratic discussion...When the People Speak is the latest formal enunciation of this new methodology. It's not Fishkin's first book on the topic but it is the most theoretically ambitious and comprehensive to date."--Lynn M. Sanders, Associate Professor of Politics, University of Virginia"When the People Speak is both a heartfelt plea for a far more deliberative conception of political democracy and a rigorous analysis of what now constitute almost two decades of data amassed in the course of conducting what Fishkin terms "deliberative polls" all over the world. Fishkin is almost literally unique in combining the talents of a world-class political t