James S. Fishkin (born 1948) is an American political scientist and communications scholar.

Together with Robert Luskin, Fishkin's work has led to over 100 deliberative polls in 28 countries.

[1] The deliberative opinion poll, a concept proposed by Fishkin, involves gathering a representative random sample of people to deliberate on a specific issue.

Participants are provided with briefing materials, carefully designed to represent all viewpoints in a balanced manner.

It also served as the foundation for "Power and the People," a Channel 4 program on which Fishkin consulted, airing in the UK from 1994 to 1999.