Michael Neblo

Michael Neblo will be the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Professor of Political Science and (by courtesy) Philosophy, Communication, and Public Affairs at The Ohio State University, where he directs the Institute for Democratic Engagement and Accountability (IDEA). Neblo's research focuses on understanding and improving the deliberative quality of representative democracy. His book Politics with the People   develops and tests a new model of politics better connecting citizens and elected officials. He has twice testified before Congress and twice briefed newly elected members about these findings. His first book, Deliberative Democracy between Theory and Practice breaks the deadlock between deliberation’s theoretical supporters and their empirical critics by developing innovations to improve and bring new voices into democratic policy debates. His work crosses over an usually wide range of academic fields. Neblo holds a PhD in political science from the University of Chicago and a BA in Philosophy and Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences from Northwestern University. He has won awards from the Carnegie Corporation, the Democracy Fund, the Kettering Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Templeton Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the U.S. Veterans Administration, the International Society for Political Psychology, the Ash Institute, and the U.S. National Science Foundation  and Department of Education to design and study innovative “Deliberative Town Hall” meetings with the cooperation of members of Congress. IDEA has recently adapted this model to similar forums with Australian MP’s and will be expanding to other countries and levels of government within the U.S.