Michael Neblo, associate professor of political science, has been appointed to serve as director of Ohio State’s Democracy Studies Program, effective August 2017. 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.

Neblo’s research focuses on democratic theory, political psychology, political sociology and how these fields relate to each other. Recently, Neblo co-authored an article in Science on the need for a translational science of democracy, with colleagues from Ohio State, the University of California, Riverdale, Northeastern University and Harvard University. In 2015, he co-authored the first study of its kind on the ability of political leaders to directly impact constituents’ attitudes and behavior regarding policy issues, attributions regarding the leaders’ qualities and subsequent voting behavior. The study, "Field experiment evidence of substantive, attributional, and behavioral persuasion by Members of Congress in online town halls," was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He is the author of the book, Deliberative Democracy between Theory and Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2015).

Ohio State’s Democracy Studies Program — a nonpartisan, interdisciplinary collaboration between Ohio State’s Moritz College of Law, College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Political Science — supports thoughtful inquiry into issues relating to the institutions, processes and norms of a healthy democratic society. The program includes Ohio State faculty and students from a wide range of disciplines, including political sciene, psychology, history, philosophy, communication, law and public administration.