A female student holding a microphone towards another female student to ask questions at a political debate.

Department of Political Science News

The Department of Political Science is dedicated to excellence in research, teaching, and service. Our students learn and receive mentorship from faculty members who specialize in various subjects including American politics, comparative politics, international politics, political theory, public law, and public policy.

Current Political Science News

Students pass by Lied Library as they walk campus on the first day of Fall 2024 semester classes
Campus News |

A collection of news highlights featuring students and faculty.

UNLV campus
Campus News |

Brookings foreign policy expert and UNLV faculty to discuss Southern border relationship as part of free public lecture series.

Mirage Resort
Campus News |

Roundup of the hottest news headlines featuring UNLV students and staff.

Josh Hawkins, UNLV
Campus News |

News highlights featuring UNLV students and staff who made (refreshing) waves in the headlines.

UNLV banner with a plane flying in background
People |

The program will help Alejandro Rios prepare for career in immigrant and refugee advocacy.

student displays vegan product on table during market
Business and Community |

Leya Dagher knew she wanted to start a business and with the help of UNLV resources, she established Swalty Mediterranean.

Political Science In The News

Forward

Jews are running in some of the most pivotal, too-close-to-call races in the nation this election season. Here are four contests — two Senate, one House and one governor’s race — plus a bonus contest where the Jewish Democrat in the last election nearly ousted one of the most provocative Republicans in Congress.

The National Interest

As the U.S. election campaign enters its decisive home stretch, with the candidates now nominated, there will be much focus on how the outcome will impact the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. We’d like to point out that the volatile South Caucasus may be affected no less by a return to a transactional approach that views Vladimir Putin favorably.

Nevada Independent

Is Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) just a carbon copy of Vice President Kamala Harris? Is Sam Brown just Donald Trump reincarnated? The Nevada Senate campaigns (and supportive outside groups) are each spending millions of dollars to try to get voters to think of their opponent in the same breath as their party leader. Each candidate has tried to brand the other with the moniker of their party leaders — Rosen rarely mentions Brown without adding the “MAGA extremist” label, while Brown has sought to portray Rosen as a rubber stamp for Biden, and now Harris’, economic agenda.

Nevada Independent

For the more than 40 years he has lived in Nevada, Jose Solorio says political campaigns have never been quite able to truly crack the state’s Latino community. The 65-year-old lobbyist and community advocate is not the first to emphasize the well-worn bit of political wisdom that the Latino community is not a monolith, with voting behaviors differing greatly by their immigration experience, age and Spanish proficiency. But after all these years and close elections, he says political parties are still grappling with this dynamic.

Las Vegas Sun

The economic impact of American Latinos increased by over 60% from 2010 to 2022, according to a report from UCLA released last week. The yearly United States Latino GDP study found that, independent from the rest of America’s gross domestic product, U.S. Latino GDP would be the fifth-largest economy in the world — ahead of India and the United Kingdom, among others.

PBS

We start with highlights from a Brookings Mountain West panel discussion on U.S. and Mexico, held at UNLV and hosted by Amber Renee Dixon. Experts share insights on the relationship between the two countries, and how the election will impact it. Then, former NFL cornerback and 8 News Now Analyst Mark McMillian shares his insights on this year’s Raiders team as the football season gets underway.

Political Science Experts

An expert in international security, immigration and refugee policies, and political violence.
An expert on judges, judicial selection, and race and gender bias.
An expert on Latin American politics, with a focus on NAFTA and the Mexican and North American automobile industry.
An expert on voting behavior, East Asia, and political psychology.
An expert in polling, campaign finance, political communication, and elections.
An expert on American politics, campaigns and elections and public policy.

Recent Political Science Accomplishments

Austin Horng-En Wang (Political Science) published an op-ed, "As the TPP Faces Controversy, Will Third Parties Disappear From Taiwan Politics?" in The Diplomat. In this article, Wang analyzed the 2024 Taiwan Presidential and Congressional elections and recent surveys, and argued that many Taiwanese voters will still support the third…
Annie Vong (Lincy Institute; Brookings Mountain West), Zachary Billot (Lincy Institute; Brookings Mountain West), and Nicole Dias Del Valle (Political Science; Philosophy Law & Justice; Brookings Public Policy) recently co-authored a Brookings Institution blog post titled, "Youth voices in the 2024 election: What students want to see on the…
Ben Farrer (Political Science) published "Assessing how energy companies negotiate with landowners when obtaining land for hydraulic fracturing" in Nature: Energy. The article shows the different tactics used by energy companies in order to get permission to begin horizontal drilling. More details are provided in some media coverage.
Austin Horng-En Wang (Political Science) co-authored the article, "Taiwanese Support for Self-Defense after the Russo–Ukrainian War," in Asian Survey. In this article, Wang and others analyzed the a series of representative surveys in Taiwan right before and after the 2022 Russo-Ukraininan War, and found that Taiwanese people polarized…
Austin Horng-En Wang (Political Science) was invited by the Radio Taiwan International in Taiwan to have a talk on July 2 titled, "Media Resilience and Geopolitics." In this talk, Wang discussed the definition of cognitive warfare and its conflict with the freedom of speech. Wang then shared examples of cognitive warfare in Taiwan and showed…
A co-authored paper by Andrew Lugg (Political Science), "The Politics of International Peace and Security: Introducing a New Dataset on the Creation of United Nations Security Council Subsidiary Bodies," was recently published in International Studies Quarterly. The paper examines newly collected data on the creation of "subsidiary bodies" by…