Educational Background
Fisher received her Ph.D. and Masters of Science degrees from the Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her undergraduate degree is in East Asian Studies and Environmental Studies from Princeton University.

Research
The major aim of Fisher's research is to understand the ways that social actors engage in decision-making processes and the successes and failures of such efforts. She has focused much of her attention on non-state actors, studying them at multiple scales, including the international comparative level, the national level in multiple nation-states (primarily the United States, Japan and countries of the European Union), and the local/grassroots level in the United States. Her most recent work focuses on the relationship between civil society actors--including social movement organizations and activists--and politics at different scales.

Representative Publications
Fisher, D.R. 2006. Activism, Inc. Stanford University Press.

Fisher, D.R. 2004. National Governance and the Global Climate Change Regime. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.