Samuel L. Popkin (born June 9, 1942) is an American

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

who teaches at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

. Popkin has played a role in the development of rational choice models in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. He is also noted for his work as a

pollster An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll, is a survey (human research), human research survey of public opinion from a particular sampling (statistics), sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...

Early life

Popkin was born on June 9, 1942. He received his Ph.D. from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 1969.

Career

His most recent book is '' The Candidate: What it Takes to Win (and Hold) the White House.'' Earlier he wrote ''The Reasoning Voter: Communication and Persuasion in Presidential Campaigns'' and co-authored ''Issues and Strategies: The Computer Simulation of Presidential Campaigns''. He also co-edited ''Chief of Staff: Twenty-Five Years of Managing the Presidency''. When he was assistant professor of Government, in 1972, he was

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...

ed for a week, for his refusal to answer questions before a grand jury investigating the

Pentagon Papers The ''Pentagon Papers'', officially titled ''Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force'', is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States in the Vietnam War, United States' political and militar ...

case, during a hearing before the Boston's Federal District Court. Richard J. Meislin
Popkin Faces Jail Sentence In Contempt of Court Case
''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper at Harvard University, an Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The newspaper was founded in 1873, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduate students. His ...

'', March 22, 1972. The Faculty Council later passed a resolution condemning the government's interrogation of scholars on the grounds that "an unlimited right of grand juries to ask any question and to expose a witness to citations for contempt could easily threaten scholarly research." Popkin is equally well known for his work on peasant society, with particular reference to East and Southeast Asia, including '' The Rational Peasant: The Political Economy of Rural Society in Vietnam''. Popkin has also been a consulting analyst in presidential campaigns, serving as consultant on

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

's presidential campaign on polling and strategy, to the

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

election units from 1983 to 1990 on survey design and analysis, and more recently to the Gore campaign. He has also served as consultant to

political parties in Canada This article lists political parties in Canada. Federal parties In contrast with the political party systems of many nations, Canadian parties at the federal level are often only loosely connected with parties at the provincial level, despite ha ...

and Europe and to the Departments of

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and

Defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

. His current research focuses on presidential campaigns and the relationship of

public opinion Public opinion, or popular opinion, is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. In the 21st century, public opinion is widely thought to be heavily ...

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

Personal life

Popkin is married to

Susan Shirk Susan L. Shirk is an American political scientist and China specialist currently serving as a research professor at University of California, San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy. She was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the B ...

, research professor and chair of the 21st Century China Center at the Graduate School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego.

Selected publications

*''The Reasoning Voter: Communication and Persuasion in Presidential Campaigns'' *'' The Rational Peasant: The Political Economy of Rural Society in Vietnam'' *''Candidates, Issues and Strategies'' *''Chief of Staff: Twenty-Five Years of Managing the Presidency'', co-editor with Samuel Kernell

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popkin, Samuel L. 1942 births Living people American political scientists Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni University of California, San Diego faculty Pollsters