Robert M. Fishman, Professor of Sociology and Fellow of the Kellogg Institute at the University of Notre Dame and visiting professor of political science at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra is a comparativist who works on democracy and democratic practice, politics and culture, and consequences of inequality.  Prior to moving to the University of Notre Dame, Fishman was Associate Professor of Government and of Social Studies at Harvard University and has also been a visiting professor at the Center for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences of the Juan March Institute (Madrid). Fishman earned his Ph.D. in Sociology from Yale University and is a member of the American Sociological Association and the American Political Science Association.

Fishman is currently writing a book analyzing differences in democratic practice and societal outcomes between "third wave" pioneers Portugal and Spain. His earlier books include Democracy's Voices, winner in 2005 of Honorable Mention for Best Book in Political Sociology, The Year of the Euro (with Anthony Messina), and Working-Class Organization and the Return to Democracy in Spain. Both Democracy's Voices and Working-Class Organization have also been published in Spanish. Fishman's published articles and essays include theoretical analyses - differentiating between states and regimes in democratization and critiquing the concept of social capital - as well as methodological work on the Weberian approach to social science and on the rationale for studying labor movements from the perspective of workplace leaders. Fishman has also published papers on European integration and on sociological determinants of priestly vocations as well as other themes.