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Is Deliberation an Antidote to Extreme Partisan Polarization? Reflections on 'America in One Room'

James Fishkin; Alice Siu; Larry Diamond; Norman Bradburn · American Political Science Review 115(4), 1464–1481 · 2021

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Type: Article
Author: James Fishkin; Alice Siu; Larry Diamond; Norman Bradburn
Identifier: DOI 10.1017/S0003055421000642
Accessed: 2026-09-01

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EstablishedMore than 500 registered voters deliberated over a long weekend on five major issues; compared with a pre–post control group, deliberators showed large depolarising changes in policy attitudes and large decreases in affective polarisation.EstablishedOn 26 highly polarising proposals, Democrats and Republicans moved closer on 22, significantly on 19; Democratic support for a $15 federal minimum wage fell from 82.5% to 59.4%.EstablishedWhether such weekend effects last is mixed: the study's authors report that in follow-up waves some effects dissipated, while voting intention near the 2020 election, more than a year later, still differed dramatically between delegates and the control group.TheoryIn the 'America in One Room' Deliberative Poll, more than 500 registered voters who deliberated over a long weekend showed large depolarising changes in their policy attitudes and large decreases in affective polarisation, measured against a control group.