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 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.

Members of the UNLV Runway Rebels student fashion club pose on the steps of the Carol C. Harter Classroom Building complex
Campus News |

Group offers opportunities for exploration and growth of Las Vegas fashion industry — and themselves.

Political Science In The News

NPR

When Swarthmore, Pa., resident Scott Richardson first voted in a U.S. presidential election, it was for Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976. Richardson cast his ballot for Republican Donald Trump in 2016. But after being disillusioned by Trump’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Richardson chose Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

LiveNOW Fox

Rebecca Gill, an associate professor in political science at UNLV, discusses the top issues for voters in Nevada heading into the 2024 presidential election in November.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

United States Vice President Kamala Harris, smiling and shaking hands with her husband, Douglas Emhoff, greeted thousands of supporters inside Chicago's United Center as red, white and blue balloons dropped from the ceiling. The 59-year-old politician gave the most important speech in her life on the evening of August 22, after accepting the nomination of the Democratic Party as a presidential candidate.

Forbes

With nearly 43 million Americans burdened by federal student loan debt, the debate over how lawmakers should address this issue is deeply polarized along party lines. While the Biden-Harris administration has made student loan forgiveness a policy priority, speculation grows about the future of student loans under a potential second Trump presidency.

Forbes

The average borrowing cost of $32,000 for a bachelor’s degree is a significant issue impacting millions of Americans. As talk of a potential Harris-Walz administration gains traction, the question arises: What would their approach to student loans look like if they win the White House?

E&E News

Oil and gas companies have been pressuring Ohio landowners to allow hydraulic fracturing on their property and are turning to state law to force compliance when there is resistance, according to a study published this week in Nature Energy.

Political Science Experts

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Recent Political Science Accomplishments

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…
Andrew Lugg (Political Science) recently presented his co-authored paper, "Connecting Regimes: Preferential Trade Agreements and the Management of the Intellectual Property Rights Regime," at the plenary session of the 16th Annual Political Economy of International Organizations (PEIO) conference in Stockholm, Sweden. The paper develops a theory…