Spencer Mckay
Biographic Data
| ID | 4276006 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Spencer Mckay |
| GIVEN NAMES | Spencer |
| FAMILY NAME | Mckay |
| SIGNATURE | MCKAY S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of British Columbia |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5650-4636 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 89 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Canadian Policy Responses to Artificial Intelligence–Generated Threats to Democratic Elections
L'intelligence artificielle (IA) générative est largement considérée comme une menace potentielle pour l'intégrité d’élections et la participation au processus démocratique. La création et la diffusion de contenu par l'IA n'ont pas encore changé de manière décisive les résultats électoraux, mais des preuves expérimentales et des cas concrets suggèrent que l'IA est susceptible de constituer un défi majeur pour la démocratie au Canada et dans le mo…
Common-pool resources and democracy
The commons is frequently taken to be a model of democracy. Yet, the problems of overuse and enclosure that plague common-pool resources suggest that democratic norms of inclusion, equality, and pluralism may not be realized in practice. Existing contractarian accounts of the democratic value of the commons tend to assume equality of power and clear boundaries between users and non-users. Alternative accounts that emphasize practices of commoning…
Plebiscites, Referendums, and Ballot Initiatives as Institutions of Popular Sovereignty: Rousseau's Influence on Competing Theories of Popular-Vote Processes
Popular-vote processes — such as plebiscites, referendums, and initiatives — are frequently understood as Rousseauian instruments of popular sovereignty. Yet, Rousseau did not theorize these devices himself. As a result, he has been claimed by proponents of competing theories of popular-vote processes. Theorists of sleeping sovereignty have claimed Rousseau's distinction between sovereignty and government in support of rare, constitutional refere…
Democratic Theory and the Empirical Study of Popular Vote Processes
Altman, David. 2018. Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dyck, Joshua, and Edward Lascher. 2019. Initiatives without Engagement: A Realistic Appraisal of Direct Democracy’s Secondary Effects. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Hollander, Saskia. 2019. The Politics of Referendum Use in European Democracies. London: Palgrave MacMillan. Matsusaka, John G. 2020. Let the People Rule: How Dire…
The politics of referendum rules: Evidence from New Zealand (1893–2016)
Despite widespread concerns about the manipulation of government‐initiated referendums, there has been little consideration of the long‐term effects of these institutional changes. Using a historical institutionalist framework, I examine two long‐standing processes of gradual institutional change in New Zealand: the serial referendum and the two‐stage referendum. Cabinet documents, parliamentary speeches, and previous analyses reveal that governm…
Disinformation as a Threat to Deliberative Democracy
It is frequently claimed that online disinformation threatens democracy, and that disinformation is more prevalent or harmful because social media platforms have disrupted our communication systems. These intuitions have not been fully developed in democratic theory. This article builds on systemic approaches to deliberative democracy to characterize key vulnerabilities of social media platforms that disinformation actors exploit, and to clarify …
Introduction to the Special Issue ‘Beyond ‘Direct Democracy: Popular Vote Processes in Democratic Systems
Despite controversy over recent referendums and initiatives, populists and social movements continue to call for the use of these popular vote processes. Most political and academic debates about whether these calls should be answered have adopted a dominant framework that focuses on whether we should favour ‘direct’ or ‘representative’ democracy. However, this framework obscures more urgent questions about whether, when, and how popular vote pro…
Disentangling Referendums and Direct Democracy: A Defence of the Systemic Approach to Popular Vote Processes
What is the relationship between referendum and initiative processes and democracy? The dominant understanding is that these popular vote processes are institutions associated with a model of direct democracy that stands in opposition to representative democracy. However, this pervasive approach is rarely justified and appears to limit the study of popular vote processes by focusing on implausible ideals, obscuring that many democratic institutio…
Building a Better Referendum: Linking Mini-Publics and Mass Publics in Popular Votes
Popular votes and mini-publics are both increasingly implemented as elected officials seek to build legitimacy for decisions, although these democratic innovations suffer from their own democratic deficits. Popular votes often do not live up to deliberative ideals while mini-publics may be limited in their capacities for inclusion and decision-making. Pairing these two devices can improve deliberation in referendum campaigns, while tying mini-pub…
Mass LBP and Long-Form Deliberation in Canada
Deliberative forums, such as citizens’ assemblies or reference panels, are one institutionalization of deliberative democracy that has become increasingly commonplace in recent years. MASS LBP is a pioneer in designing and facilitating such long-form deliberative processes in Canada. This article provides an overview of the company’s civic lottery and reference panel process, notes several distinctive features of MASS LBP that are relevant to add…
Designing Popular Vote Processes for Democratic Systems: Counter‐Proposals, Recurring Referendums, and Iterated Popular Votes
Normative evaluations of popular vote processes, such as referendums and initiatives, often pay attention to specific aspects of institutional design, such as whether a popular vote process is binding or advisory. While it is necessary to analyze these specific features, I contend that we need to do so in the context of the broader democratic system in which popular vote processes are situated because these specific design features may have disti…
Disinformation as a Threat to Deliberative Democracy
It is frequently claimed that online disinformation threatens democracy, and that disinformation is more prevalent or harmful because social media platforms have disrupted our communication systems. These intuitions have not been fully developed in democratic theory. This article builds on systemic approaches to deliberative democracy to characterize key vulnerabilities of social media platforms that disinformation actors exploit, and to clarify …
Disentangling Referendums and Direct Democracy: A Defence of the Systemic Approach to Popular Vote Processes
What is the relationship between referendum and initiative processes and democracy? The dominant understanding is that these popular vote processes are institutions associated with a model of direct democracy that stands in opposition to representative democracy. However, this pervasive approach is rarely justified and appears to limit the study of popular vote processes by focusing on implausible ideals, obscuring that many democratic institutio…
Designing Popular Vote Processes for Democratic Systems: Counter‐Proposals, Recurring Referendums, and Iterated Popular Votes
Normative evaluations of popular vote processes, such as referendums and initiatives, often pay attention to specific aspects of institutional design, such as whether a popular vote process is binding or advisory. While it is necessary to analyze these specific features, I contend that we need to do so in the context of the broader democratic system in which popular vote processes are situated because these specific design features may have disti…
Introduction to the Special Issue ‘Beyond ‘Direct Democracy: Popular Vote Processes in Democratic Systems
Despite controversy over recent referendums and initiatives, populists and social movements continue to call for the use of these popular vote processes. Most political and academic debates about whether these calls should be answered have adopted a dominant framework that focuses on whether we should favour ‘direct’ or ‘representative’ democracy. However, this framework obscures more urgent questions about whether, when, and how popular vote pro…
Common-pool resources and democracy
The commons is frequently taken to be a model of democracy. Yet, the problems of overuse and enclosure that plague common-pool resources suggest that democratic norms of inclusion, equality, and pluralism may not be realized in practice. Existing contractarian accounts of the democratic value of the commons tend to assume equality of power and clear boundaries between users and non-users. Alternative accounts that emphasize practices of commoning…
Plebiscites, Referendums, and Ballot Initiatives as Institutions of Popular Sovereignty: Rousseau's Influence on Competing Theories of Popular-Vote Processes
Popular-vote processes — such as plebiscites, referendums, and initiatives — are frequently understood as Rousseauian instruments of popular sovereignty. Yet, Rousseau did not theorize these devices himself. As a result, he has been claimed by proponents of competing theories of popular-vote processes. Theorists of sleeping sovereignty have claimed Rousseau's distinction between sovereignty and government in support of rare, constitutional refere…
Mass LBP and Long-Form Deliberation in Canada
Deliberative forums, such as citizens’ assemblies or reference panels, are one institutionalization of deliberative democracy that has become increasingly commonplace in recent years. MASS LBP is a pioneer in designing and facilitating such long-form deliberative processes in Canada. This article provides an overview of the company’s civic lottery and reference panel process, notes several distinctive features of MASS LBP that are relevant to add…
Designing Popular Vote Processes for Democratic Systems: Counter‐Proposals, Recurring Referendums, and Iterated Popular Votes
Normative evaluations of popular vote processes, such as referendums and initiatives, often pay attention to specific aspects of institutional design, such as whether a popular vote process is binding or advisory. While it is necessary to analyze these specific features, I contend that we need to do so in the context of the broader democratic system in which popular vote processes are situated because these specific design features may have disti…
Building a Better Referendum: Linking Mini-Publics and Mass Publics in Popular Votes
Popular votes and mini-publics are both increasingly implemented as elected officials seek to build legitimacy for decisions, although these democratic innovations suffer from their own democratic deficits. Popular votes often do not live up to deliberative ideals while mini-publics may be limited in their capacities for inclusion and decision-making. Pairing these two devices can improve deliberation in referendum campaigns, while tying mini-pub…
Introduction to the Special Issue ‘Beyond ‘Direct Democracy: Popular Vote Processes in Democratic Systems
Despite controversy over recent referendums and initiatives, populists and social movements continue to call for the use of these popular vote processes. Most political and academic debates about whether these calls should be answered have adopted a dominant framework that focuses on whether we should favour ‘direct’ or ‘representative’ democracy. However, this framework obscures more urgent questions about whether, when, and how popular vote pro…
Disentangling Referendums and Direct Democracy: A Defence of the Systemic Approach to Popular Vote Processes
What is the relationship between referendum and initiative processes and democracy? The dominant understanding is that these popular vote processes are institutions associated with a model of direct democracy that stands in opposition to representative democracy. However, this pervasive approach is rarely justified and appears to limit the study of popular vote processes by focusing on implausible ideals, obscuring that many democratic institutio…
Democratic Theory and the Empirical Study of Popular Vote Processes
Altman, David. 2018. Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dyck, Joshua, and Edward Lascher. 2019. Initiatives without Engagement: A Realistic Appraisal of Direct Democracy’s Secondary Effects. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Hollander, Saskia. 2019. The Politics of Referendum Use in European Democracies. London: Palgrave MacMillan. Matsusaka, John G. 2020. Let the People Rule: How Dire…
The politics of referendum rules: Evidence from New Zealand (1893–2016)
Despite widespread concerns about the manipulation of government‐initiated referendums, there has been little consideration of the long‐term effects of these institutional changes. Using a historical institutionalist framework, I examine two long‐standing processes of gradual institutional change in New Zealand: the serial referendum and the two‐stage referendum. Cabinet documents, parliamentary speeches, and previous analyses reveal that governm…
Disinformation as a Threat to Deliberative Democracy
It is frequently claimed that online disinformation threatens democracy, and that disinformation is more prevalent or harmful because social media platforms have disrupted our communication systems. These intuitions have not been fully developed in democratic theory. This article builds on systemic approaches to deliberative democracy to characterize key vulnerabilities of social media platforms that disinformation actors exploit, and to clarify …
Common-pool resources and democracy
The commons is frequently taken to be a model of democracy. Yet, the problems of overuse and enclosure that plague common-pool resources suggest that democratic norms of inclusion, equality, and pluralism may not be realized in practice. Existing contractarian accounts of the democratic value of the commons tend to assume equality of power and clear boundaries between users and non-users. Alternative accounts that emphasize practices of commoning…
Plebiscites, Referendums, and Ballot Initiatives as Institutions of Popular Sovereignty: Rousseau's Influence on Competing Theories of Popular-Vote Processes
Popular-vote processes — such as plebiscites, referendums, and initiatives — are frequently understood as Rousseauian instruments of popular sovereignty. Yet, Rousseau did not theorize these devices himself. As a result, he has been claimed by proponents of competing theories of popular-vote processes. Theorists of sleeping sovereignty have claimed Rousseau's distinction between sovereignty and government in support of rare, constitutional refere…
Canadian Policy Responses to Artificial Intelligence–Generated Threats to Democratic Elections
L'intelligence artificielle (IA) générative est largement considérée comme une menace potentielle pour l'intégrité d’élections et la participation au processus démocratique. La création et la diffusion de contenu par l'IA n'ont pas encore changé de manière décisive les résultats électoraux, mais des preuves expérimentales et des cas concrets suggèrent que l'IA est susceptible de constituer un défi majeur pour la démocratie au Canada et dans le mo…
Law (10 works) · Political science (10 works) · Politics (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Democracy (9 works) · Law (7 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (6 works) · Social Media and Politics (6 works) · Law and economics (5 works) · Political economy (5 works)