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

unlv pumpkins
Campus News |

A monthly roundup of the top news stories at UNLV, featuring the presidential election, gaming partnerships, and much more.

Undergrad researcher Benjamin Sabir helps H. Jeremy Cho examine an atmospheric water harvesting device. (Jeff Scheid/UNLV)
Campus News |

A monthly roundup of the top news stories featuring UNLV staff and students.

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.

Political Science In The News

Nevada Independent

A presidential candidate with a unique ability to turn out low-propensity voters. A Nevada senator running a state-specific campaign and keeping her party leaders at arm’s length. And an electorate much more interested in third-party candidates and the “none of the above” option in the Senate race than in the presidential race.

The Epoch Times

Despite that Trump won the Silver State, Republican military veteran Sam Brown lost to incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.). The Senate race came down to the fact that Rosen was the incumbent, according to UNLV political science professor Daniel Lee.

Las Vegas Weekly

With Donald Trump in line to be the next president of the United States, immigrant communities across Nevada and the nation are bracing for his promise to carry out the “largest deportation in the history of our country,” removing millions of immigrants in mass roundups and raids. Among the most immediate effects of such a move would be to tear Nevada families apart, experts predict.

Las Vegas Weekly

With Donald Trump in line to be the next president of the United States, immigrant communities across Nevada and the nation are bracing for his promise to carry out the “largest deportation in the history of our country,” removing millions of immigrants in mass roundups and raids. Among the most immediate effects of such a move would be to tear Nevada families apart, experts predict.

KTNV-TV: ABC 13

With one day before the canvass by each county board of commissioners, we're getting a better idea of voter turnout here in Clark County. According to the Secretary of State's office, there was about a 70% turnout, 5% lower than in 2020.

KRNV News 4

Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen, a first-term Democrat, narrowly won her re-election bid, defeating GOP challenger Sam Brown, according to an AP race call.

Political Science Experts

An expert in the politics of Europe and other democracies.
An expert in competitive debate, policy debate, argumentation and persuasion, and presidential and political debates.
An expert on voting behavior, East Asia, and political psychology.
An expert on Latin American politics, with a focus on NAFTA and the Mexican and North American automobile industry.
An expert on politics, elections, and the American party system. 
An expert on judges, judicial selection, and race and gender bias.

Recent Political Science Accomplishments

Austin Horng-En Wang (Political Science) was invited by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at the George Washington University to have a talk on November 18, titled "Public Opinion in Taiwan and its implications to US-China-Taiwan Relations." In this talk, Wang explained the recent surge of nonpartisans in Taiwan and their attitude on the…
Rachel Torres (Political Science) and her coauthors Joseph Coll from Texas Tech University and Caroline Tolbert from the University of Iowa recently published "The unqualified voter: racial animus in support for voter qualifications" in Politics, Groups, and Identities. Their article examines the extent to which racial animus influences…
The Department of Political Science hosted the 66th Annual Conference of the American Association for Chinese Studies (AACS2024) on October 4-6. The conference covers China, Taiwan, Chinese-speaking communities, and the Chinese diaspora. Scholars and students from Japan, Poland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and other parts of the U.S. attended…
Andrew Lugg (Political Science) recently published the article "Globaloney: Extended Party Networks and the Dissemination of Anti-Globalization Insults" in the journal Political Research Quarterly with co-author Zachary Scott. The article uses social media data examining the "globalist" insult to show how party-affiliated factions…
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…