2024
Testing the Benefits of Public Deliberation
William Minozzi, Ryan Kennedy, Kevin M. Esterling, Michael A. Neblo, Ryan Jewell
American Journal of Political Science
This study evaluates the added value of public deliberation compared to individual deliberation through a field experiment on immigration reform. The results show that public deliberation offers greater benefits across multiple measures, with little evidence that demographic factors diminish its value.
2022
Connecting to Congress during COVID-19: Political Representation and Two-Way Crisis Communication
Abigail Kielty, Amy Lee, Michael A. Neblo
Digital Government: Research and Practice
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Congress needed to communicate reliable information and develop responsive policies. To support this, Deliberative Town Halls were adapted to include bipartisan congressional participation and expert input, fostering two-way conversations that helped inform policy and gave constituents a platform to voice their experiences and concerns.
2022
Does Familiarity Breed Esteem? A Field Experiment on Emergent Attitudes Toward Members of Congress
Kevin M. Esterling, William Minozzi, Michael A. Neblo
Political Research Quarterly
This study tests whether familiarity with a Member of Congress increases or decreases constituent esteem. Using a randomized experiment, it finds that interacting with a legislator in a Deliberative Town Hall boosts esteem—especially among co-partisans—supporting traditional theories of representation and offering no evidence that familiarity breeds contempt.
2020
Congress Must Stay Connected Even in a Time of Social Distancing
Kevin M. Esterling, Michael Neblo, David Lazer
Brookings
To effectively engage with constituents and fulfill their democratic duties during the COVID-19 pandemic, members of Congress should leverage online platforms. Research on online deliberative town halls demonstrates their potential to foster constructive engagement and informed dialogue by reconnecting constituents with their government.
2019
Deliberative Democracy and Political Decision Making
Jon Green, Jonathon Kingzette, Michael Neblo
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Political Decision Making
Political deliberation takes place across many settings and actors, including informal citizen discussions, organized small-group forums, and elite decision-making. While citizen deliberation can promote democratic benefits like participation and knowledge, debates persist over its feasibility and impact, and elite deliberation—despite its policy influence—remains understudied but promising for future research.
2019
Constituent Communication Through Telephone Town Halls: A Field Experiment Involving Members of Congress
Claire Abernathy, Kevin M. Esterling, Justin Freebourn, Ryan Kennedy, William Minozzi, Michael A. Neblo, Jonathan A. Solis
Legislative Studies Quarterly
This study examines the impact of telephone town halls, a common but understudied tool for congressional communication. A field experiment showed that participation improved constituent views of both the format and their Member of Congress, with additional gains in format evaluations from a reform emphasizing focused topics and preparatory materials, suggesting potential for enhancing democratic engagement.
2015
Expanding the Conversation: Multiplier Effects from a Deliberative Field Experiment
David Lazer, Anand E. Sokhey, Michael A. Neblo, Kevin M. Esterling, Ryan Kennedy
This study investigates whether formal deliberative events influence broader political discussion and public opinion. A field experiment with U.S. Senate constituents found that participation significantly increased political conversations within social networks, with no evidence that these effects were limited by individual or network characteristics—suggesting such events can produce widespread, equitable spillover effects.
2014
Field Experiment Evidence of Substantive, Attributional, and Behavioral Persuasion by Members of Congress in Online Town Halls
William Minozzi, Michael A. Neblo, Kevin M. Esterling, David M.J. Lazer
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2012
This study addresses the lack of causal evidence on whether direct appeals from political leaders influence public attitudes and behavior. Through two randomized field experiments with online town halls, the researchers find that interactions with members of Congress significantly increased persuasion on policy views, trust, approval, and even voting intentions.
2011
The Internet and the Madisonian Cycle: Possibilities and Prospects for Consultative Representation
Michael Neblo, David Siegel, William Minozzi
This is a chapter in the book “Connecting Democracy” explores how the Internet could strengthen democratic representation by enabling more direct and deliberative communication between citizens and members of Congress. While most congressional websites fail to foster meaningful discourse due to strategic and political concerns, field experiments with online town halls show that such forums can increase political participation, policy knowledge, and constituent support, offering a promising model for revitalizing the Madisonian cycle of representative democracy.
2011
The Multiple Institutional Logics of Innovation
David Lazer, Ines Mergel, Curtis Ziniel, Kevin M. Esterling, Michael A. Neblo
International Public Management Journal
This paper examines how innovation is shaped by multiple institutional logics—such as market, state, and community logics—that coexist and interact within organizations. Through comparative case studies of innovation in the U.S. and German wind energy sectors, the authors show that innovation processes vary significantly depending on how actors navigate and combine these competing logics.
2011
Means, Motive, and Opportunity in Becoming Informed About Politics
Kevin M. Esterling, Michael A. Neblo, David M.J. Lazer
Public Opinion Quarterly
This paper argues that becoming informed about politics depends on three key factors: means (resources and access), motive (interest and engagement), and opportunity (availability of information). Using empirical data, the authors demonstrate that disparities in political knowledge are best explained by the interaction of these elements, highlighting the importance of structural and individual conditions in shaping political awareness.
2010
Who Wants to Deliberate—And Why?
Michael A. Neblo, Kevin M. Esterling, Ryan P. Kennedy, David M.J. Lazer, Anand E. Sokhey
American Political Science Review
This study challenges skepticism about the practicality of deliberative democracy by showing that many Americans, especially those disengaged from traditional partisan politics, are willing to participate in deliberation. Using national survey data and real invitations to deliberate with members of Congress, the authors find widespread interest in deliberative engagement as an appealing alternative to conventional political involvement.
2005
Change for the Better?: Linking the Mechanisms of Deliberative Opinion Change to Normative Theory
Michael A. Neblo
This paper investigates how and why opinion change occurs during deliberation, linking empirical findings to normative democratic theory. It identifies mechanisms such as increased knowledge, perspective-taking, and social influence as central to deliberative opinion change, arguing that these processes can enhance the legitimacy and quality of democratic outcomes when properly structured.