Spencer McKay

I currently hold a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Wilf Family Department of Politics at New York University (NYU). I am also a research associate at the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions at the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) School of Public Policy and Global Affairs.

My research focuses on investigating how institutions that involve citizens in public policy-making can be designed to embody democratic principles. I am currently working on a book project, Democratizing Referendums, which develops a normative theory to guide the design and evaluation of popular vote processes (i.e. referendums and initiatives).

My other research projects examine the potential of deliberation to respond to problems of misinformation and populism, the institutional design of election debates and its relationship to deliberative quality, and the conditions that allow democratic innovation to occur.

I completed my PhD in the Department of Political Science at UBC, where I defended my dissertation in September 2019. I also hold a M.A. in political science from UBC and a B.Soc.Sc from the University of Ottawa. Prior to beginning my PhD, I held several policy analysis positions, both in the public service and the private sector, where I focused primarily on anti-money laundering policy and regulation.