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Steven Fish

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M. Steven Fish
BornAugust 3, 1962
Alma materStanford University (Ph.D.), Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (M.A.), Cornell University (B.A.)
OccupationPolitical Scientist
EmployerUC Berkeley
Known forauthoritarianism and democracy, postcommunist countries, legislatures and constitutional systems, economic reform, religion and politics

Michael Steven Fish (born August 3, 1962) is a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. His research interests include democracy, authoritarianism, postcommunist countries, legislatures and constitutional systems, economic reform, and religion and politics.

Fish writes and comments extensively on international affairs and the rising challenges to democracy in the United States and around the world. He is a commentator in the media, including BBC World News, CNN, and other major networks, and has published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The American Interest, The Daily Beast, Slate, and Foreign Policy.

He studied international relations, economics and history at Cornell University and Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Fish received his Ph.D. in political science from Stanford in 1993. In addition to UC Berkeley, Fish has taught at the University of Pennsylvania and served as a Senior Fulbright Fellow and Visiting Professor at the Airlangga University in Indonesia and the European University at St. Petersburg in Russia.

Scholarship

Fish's most recent book, Comeback: Routing Trumpism, Reclaiming the Nation, and Restoring Democracy’s Edge (2024), examines the causes of democracy’s current crisis in America and proposes a new approach to campaign messaging for Democrats.

In Are Muslims Distinctive? A Look at the Evidence (2011), Fish tests a range of notions about Muslims and their political orientations. He finds little support for many prevailing stereotypes, including the view that Muslims are committed to fusing religious and political authority and are more prone to violence. He also finds that homicide rates and class-based inequalities are generally lower in predominantly Muslim societies.

Fish’s work also includes research on legislatures and their role in democratic governance. His coauthored book, The Handbook of National Legislatures (2009), measures the powers of the national legislature in every country in the world. He served as the Project Manager for the Legislatures section of the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project. In an article, “Stronger Legislatures, Stronger Democracies” (2006) he argued that vesting substantial power in national legislatures is vital to sustaining democratic regimes.

In Democracy Derailed in Russia: The Failure of Open Politics (2005), Fish investigated the demise of Russia’s democratic experiment in the 21st century. He argued that Russian democrats’ failure to build a strong civil society, along with flaws in their economic reform program, Russia’s hydrocarbons-based economy, and the country’s “superpresidential” constitution paved the way for the resurrection of autocracy under Vladimir Putin.

Fish’s earlier work focused on Russia’s democratization after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In Democracy from Scratch: Opposition and Regime in the New Russian Revolution (1995), which was based on two years of fieldwork in Russia during the late 1980s and early 1990s, Fish argued that Russia’s democratic breakthrough, while momentous and impressive, might prove short-lived given the lack of emergence of a realm of robust civil society organizations.

Selected publications

BOOKS

ARTICLES

  • “What Has Russia Become?” Comparative Politics 50, 3 (April 2018): 327–346.
  • “Attitudes toward Polygyny: Experimental Evidence from Six Countries” (coauthored with Rose McDermott, Michael Dickerson, Danielle Lussier, and Jonathan Cowden). In Rose McDermott and Kristen Renwick Monroe, eds., The Evils of Polygyny: Evidence of Its Harms to Women, Men, and Society. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2018: 97–122.
  • “Penury Traps and Prosperity Tales: Why Some Countries Escape Poverty While Others Do Not.” In Carol Lancaster and Nicholas van de Walle, eds., The Oxford Handbook of the Politics of Development. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018: 88–104.
  • “What Is Putinism?” Journal of Democracy 28, 4 (October 2017): 61–75.
  • “The Secret Supports of Mongolian Democracy” (coauthored with Michael Seeberg). Journal of Democracy 28, 1 (January 2017): 129–143.
  • “Men, Muslims, and Attitudes toward Gender Inequality” (coauthored with Danielle N. Lussier). Politics and Religion 9, 1 (March 2016): 29–60.
  • “Policies First, Institutions Second: Lessons from Estonia’s Economic Reforms” (coauthored with Neil A. Abrams). Post-Soviet Affairs 31, 6 (November–December 2015): 491–513.
  • “Indonesia: The Benefits of Civic Engagement” (coauthored with Danielle N. Lussier). Journal of Democracy 23, 1 (January 2012): 70–84.
  • “Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy: A New Approach” (coauthored with Michael Coppedge, John Gerring et al.). Perspectives on Politics 9, 2 (June 2011): 247–67.
  • “Islam and Large-Scale Political Violence: Is There a Connection?” (coauthored with Francesca R. Jensenius and Katherine E. Michel). Comparative Political Studies 43, 11 (November 2010): 1327–62.
  • “Stronger Legislatures, Stronger Democracies.” In Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner, eds., Democracy: A Reader. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009: 196–210.
  • “Encountering Culture.” In Zoltan Barany and Robert G. Moser, eds., Is Democracy Exportable? New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009: 57–84.
  • “Democratization and Economic Liberalization in the Postcommunist World” (coauthored with Omar Choudhry). Comparative Political Studies 40, 3 (March 2007): 254–82.
  • “Does Diversity Hurt Democracy?” (coauthored with Robin S. Brooks). Journal of Democracy 15, 1 (January 2004): 155–66.
  • “Islam and Authoritarianism.” World Politics 55, 1 (October 2002): 4–37.
  • “Mongolia: Democracy without Prerequisites.” Journal of Democracy 9, 3 (July 1998): 127–41.
  • “The Determinants of Economic Reform in the Postcommunist World.” East European Politics and Societies 12, 1 (Winter 1998): 31–78.

OP-EDS AND FEATURE ARTICLES

References

  1. "M. Steven Fish". University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  2. Kagan, Robert (2019-03-14). "Opinion: The strongmen are back. And we have no idea how to confront them". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  3. Rosenberg, Jacob (2020-11-13). "Is This a Coup? We Asked a Variety of Humane, Thoughtful People and Also Henry Kissinger". Mother Jones Magazine. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  4. Brooks, David (2018-04-02). "Opinion | Vladimir Putin, the Most Influential Man in the World". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  5. Menarndt, Aubrey (2019-11-07). "Analysis | In Mongolia, proposed legislation endangers civil society". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  6. UNDP (2006). "Parliaments, Crisis Prevention and Recovery: Guidelines for the International Community" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme.
  7. Isquith, Elias (2015-01-22). "New Atheists are wrong about Islam. Here's how data proves it". Salon. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  8. Fish, M. Steven (2014-07-23). "Will sanctions work with Putin?". CNN. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  9. Fish, M. Steven (2024-05-06). "Opinion | Trump Knows Dominance Wins. Someone Tell Democrats". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  10. "To establish the rule of law, cut off elites' purses and power. Here's how". Washington Post. 2021-12-07. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  11. Fish, M. Steven (2003-10-12). "Repressing Women, Repressing Democracy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  12. "M. Steven Fish". The American Interest. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  13. Fish, M. Steven (2015-02-15). "No, Islam Isn't Inherently Violent, And The Math Proves It". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  14. Fish, M. Steven; Abrams, Neil A.; Aghaie, Laila M. (2020-07-03). "Make Liberalism Great Again". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  15. Fish, Neil A. Abrams, M. Steven (2024-05-16). "Dethroning Ukraine's Oligarchs: A How-To Guide". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2024-05-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. Fish, M. Steven; Aghaie, Laila M. (2024). Comeback: routing trumpism, reclaiming the nation, and restoring democracy's edge. Irvington: Rivertowns Books. ISBN 978-1-953943-53-8.
  17. Glenn C. Altschuler, opinion contributor (2024-05-05). "How using 'high dominance' rhetoric can help Biden beat Trump". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-05-09. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  18. Kurzman, Charles (2011). "Review of Are Muslims Distinctive? A Look at the Evidence". Review of Middle East Studies. 45 (2): 225–227. doi:10.1017/S2151348100002561. ISSN 2151-3481. JSTOR 41496376.
  19. Munson, Ziad (2013). "Review of Are Muslims Distinctive?: A Look at the Evidence". Contemporary Sociology. 42 (1): 80–81. doi:10.1177/0094306112468721k. ISSN 0094-3061. JSTOR 41722808.
  20. Brown, L. Carl (2011-09-01). "Are Muslims Distinctive? A Look at the Evidence". Foreign Affairs. Vol. 90, no. 5. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  21. Isquith, Elias (2015-01-22). "New Atheists are wrong about Islam. Here's how data proves it". Salon. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  22. Beauchamp, Zack (2015-01-30). "This study obliterates the myth that Muslims are more violent". Vox. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  23. Desposato, Scott (2012). "Review of The Handbook of National Legislatures". Legislative Studies Quarterly. 37 (3): 389–396. doi:10.1111/j.1939-9162.2012.00052.x. ISSN 0362-9805. JSTOR 24894380.
  24. Melia, Thomas O. (2010). "What Makes Legislatures Strong?". Journal of Democracy. 21 (2): 166–170. doi:10.1353/jod.0.0169. ISSN 1086-3214.
  25. Fish, M. Steven (Michael Steven) (2006). "Stronger Legislatures, Stronger Democracies". Journal of Democracy. 17 (1): 5–20. doi:10.1353/jod.2006.0008. ISSN 1086-3214.
  26. "Choice Reviews | Login". choicereviews.org. doi:10.5860/choice.43-4903. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  27. Kubicek, Paul (2006). "Review of Democracy Derailed in Russia: The Failure of Open Politics". Perspectives on Politics. 4 (2): 401–402. doi:10.1017/S1537592706510278. ISSN 1537-5927. JSTOR 3688304.
  28. Sakwa, Richard (2008). Colton, Timothy J.; McFaul, Michael; Fish, M. Steven; Stoner-Weiss, Kathryn; Petro, Nicolai; Pravda, Alex (eds.). "Two Camps? The Struggle to Understand Contemporary Russia". Comparative Politics. 40 (4): 481–499. doi:10.5129/001041508X12911362383435. ISSN 0010-4159. JSTOR 20434097.
  29. Legvold, Robert (2006). "Review of Democracy Derailed in Russia: The Failure of Open Politics". Foreign Affairs. 85 (1): 158–159. doi:10.2307/20031880. ISSN 0015-7120. JSTOR 20031880.
  30. "Choice Reviews | Login". choicereviews.org. doi:10.5860/choice.33-1154. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  31. Colton, Timothy J. (1996). "Review of Democracy from Scratch: Opposition and Regime in the New Russian Revolution". The Russian Review. 55 (4): 724–725. doi:10.2307/131898. ISSN 0036-0341. JSTOR 131898.
  32. Tismaneanu, Vladimir (1995). "Review of Democracy from Scratch: Opposition and Regime in the New Russian Revolution". The American Political Science Review. 89 (4): 1051–1052. doi:10.2307/2082572. ISSN 0003-0554. JSTOR 2082572.
  33. Roeder, Philip G. (1995). "Review of Democracy from Scratch: Opposition and Regime in the New Russian Revolution". Political Science Quarterly. 110 (3): 487–488. doi:10.2307/2152595. ISSN 0032-3195. JSTOR 2152595.
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