The 2005 Global Intellectuals Poll
Encyclopedia
The Top 100 Public Intellectuals Poll was conducted in November 2005 and June 2008 by Prospect Magazine
(UK) and Foreign Policy (US) on the basis of responding readers' ballot. The objective was to determine the 100 most important public intellectuals who are still alive and active in public life.
internationally published an article notifying the Gulen community of the ongoing poll
, 25% from Europe
(including Eastern Europe
), 22% from Middle
and Far East
. The other locations received less than 5% -Latin America
with 4 and Africa
and Australia
with 3. Only 8% are women.
polls, this one may have been affected by organized voting campaigns and bias
es introduced by the nationality and language of the organizer. Almost all of the African votes were cast in Nigeria
.
Prospect (magazine)
Prospect is a monthly British general interest magazine, specialising in politics and current affairs. Frequent topics include British, European, and US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, the media, history, philosophy, and psychology...
(UK) and Foreign Policy (US) on the basis of responding readers' ballot. The objective was to determine the 100 most important public intellectuals who are still alive and active in public life.
Criticism
Prospect itself placed an editorial explaining its surprise that the top 10 in the 2008 list were from Muslim background, and noted the sudden surge in votes in their favor after ZamanZaman (newspaper)
Zaman is a major, high-circulation daily newspaper in Turkey. It was founded in 1986 and was the first Turkish daily to go online in 1995. It contains national , international, business and other news...
internationally published an article notifying the Gulen community of the ongoing poll
Demographics
According to location of birth, roughly 40% came from USA and CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, 25% from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
(including Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
), 22% from Middle
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
. The other locations received less than 5% -Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
with 4 and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
with 3. Only 8% are women.
Criticisms
As happens with many free InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
polls, this one may have been affected by organized voting campaigns and bias
Bias
Bias is an inclination to present or hold a partial perspective at the expense of alternatives. Bias can come in many forms.-In judgement and decision making:...
es introduced by the nationality and language of the organizer. Almost all of the African votes were cast in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
.
External links
- The Prospect/FP Top 100 Public Intellectuals - Prospect/FP's pick of the top 100 (registration required)
- Prospect/FP Top 100 Public Intellectuals Results - Results of the ranking vote. (registration required)
- The Global Intellectuals Poll. Prospect Magazine, November 2005.
- Who are the world's leading public intellectuals? - Results with field and country listing.
- The 2008 Top 100 Public Intellectuals Poll. Prospect/FP June 2008.