Three graduate students (Nicholas, Yuhang and Youngbin) represented our department at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Society of Political Methodology (PolMeth 2026) in East Lansing, MI, from July 15–18, presenting their research during the graduate poster sessions!

Congratulations to Professor Anil Menon on receiving the Emerging Health Politics Scholar Award from the Health Politics and Policy Section of APSA!

Congrats to Professor Elaine Denny for being honored at the EJIE Women's Luncheon! This special gathering provides an opportunity to come together as a community, reflect, and engage with inspiring stories that highlight leadership, advocacy, and mentorship across UCM's campus.

Congrats to Prof. Anil Menon and his co-author on their latest blog post "Will People Surrender Civil Liberties in Exchange for Action Against Migration?" on @ucigcc.bsky.social Check it out here:https://ucigcc.org/blog/will-people-surrender-civil-liberties-in-exchange-for-action-against-migration/

Check out Professor Christopher Ojeda's recent interview with KNX 97.1 LA, where he discusses his book “The Sad Citizen: How Politics Is Depressing and Why It Matters”. Listen to the interview here: polisci.ucmerced.edu/news/2026/pr... Check out the book here: www.sadcitizen.com

This Thursday 4/2 is our next Politics & Pastries session! Take a break and have some coffee and pastries with our faculty in the CAPE office (SSM 130)!

This Thursday 3/5 is our next Politics & Pastries session! Take a break and have some coffee and pastries with our faculty in the CAPE office (SSM 130)!

Check out a new comic from the UCM Center for Humanities! Professor Ojeda worked with illustrator Eli Africa to turn his book The Sad Citizen into a comic strip. Check the comic here: escholarship.org/uc/item/1bb0...

The Sad Citizen

Author(s): Ojeda, Christopher Jorge; Africa, Eli | Abstract: This comic is based on the book The Sad Citizen: How Politics Is Depressing and Why It Matters. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2...

escholarship.org

Professor Ojeda was quoted in DAME Magazine recently! Check out what he has to say about the toll politics is taking on the mental health Americans: www.damemagazine.com/2026/02/18/p....

How Political Chaos Is Affecting Americans’ Mental Health - Dame Magazine

As political instability rises, so do anxiety, depression, and disengagement. New research shows how national turmoil is reshaping Americans’ mental health.

damemagazine.com

Congrats to Political Science Professor Anil Menon and co- authors who were featured in JHPPL for their article, ""Thoughts and Prayers": The (Non) Effect of Partisan Response to Mass Shootings on Public Opinion." Read article here: read.dukeupress.edu/jhppl/articl...

Congrats to Political Science Professor Christopher Ojeda who was featured in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law for his article, "Mental Health in Times of Democratic Backsliding: Insights from Trump's Second Term." Read article here: read.dukeupress.edu/jhppl/articl...

Congrats to Political Science Professor Christopher Ojeda and co-author who were featured in the latest issue of Political Behavior for their article, "The Health-Representation Gap: We Don’t Know Much But What We Know Is Concerning." Read article here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The Health-Representation Gap: We Don’t Know Much But What We Know Is Concerning - Political Behavior

There is now evidence that disparities in health are associated with inequalities in representation, a finding we refer to as the health-representation gap. Recently, Micah Tan (2025) corroborated thi...

link.springer.com

This Thursday 2/5 is our next Politics & Pastries session! Take a break and have some coffee and pastries with our faculty in the CAPE office (SSM 130)!!

Professor @andrewcshaver.bsky.social recently delivered an inspiring talk at Stanford CISAC, "Anonymous Online Survey Detection of Political Violence, Social Unrest, and Human Rights Violations." We’re excited to share the full talk, please watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7ja...

Anonymous Online Survey Detection of Political Violence, Social Unrest and Human Rights Violations

YouTube video by CISAC Stanford (CISACStanford)

youtube.com

Congrats to Prof. @andrewcshaver.bsky.social and researchers for their feature in the latest issue of QJPS, "Civilian Harm, Wartime Informing, and Counterinsurgent Operations".

QJPS Editors on X: "From the latest issue of the QJPS, "Civilian Harm, Wartime Informing, and Counterinsurgent Operations" by @austinlwright, @lukencondra, JN Shapiro, @AndrewCShaver. A thread." / X

From the latest issue of the QJPS, "Civilian Harm, Wartime Informing, and Counterinsurgent Operations" by @austinlwright, @lukencondra, JN Shapiro, @AndrewCShaver. A thread.

x.com

"Kids start to have some conception of government as early as kindergarten, but really begin to understand politics in middle or high school." @ucmerced.bsky.socialPoliSci Prof. Christopher Ojeda spoke with @voxdotcom.bsky.social www.vox.com/life/467571/...

They’re growing up in the Trump era. Here’s what they want from the next president.

What a president for Gen Alpha might be like.

vox.com

“While there are certainly partisans in both (Stanislaus and Merced counties), there is a long history of representatives who have done well by being what we might call `Valleycrats’ who play very moderate roles.” @ucmerced.bsky.social PoliSci Professor Nathan Monroe www.kvpr.org/government-p...

Prop. 50 could nudge Stanislaus and Merced counties to the political left, experts say

Voters in Stanislaus and Merced counties showed less enthusiasm for Proposition 50 than elsewhere in California – to no one’s surprise.

kvpr.org

This Thursday 11/6 is our next Politics & Pastries session! Take a break from the mid-semester hustle to have some coffee and pastries with our faculty in the CAPE office (SSM 130)!

Congrats to Prof. @andrewcshaver.bsky.social and researchers from the Political Violence Lab on their new working paper - Anonymous Online Survey Detection (and Journalist Verification) of Political Violence, Social Unrest, and Human Rights Violations: Results from Bangladesh and Pakistan

UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation@ucigcc.bsky.social · 10mo ago

In the latest IGCC working paper, Andrew Shaver of UC Merced and a team of researchers at the Political Violence Lab share conclusions from online surveys in Bangladesh and Pakistan that helped uncover otherwise-unreported instances of political violence and human rights violations: bit.ly/3WrjlwH

Hey undergrads! Join our faculty and CAPE next Wednesday 10/29 12-1PM in the CAPE office for pizza, candy, and learning about what our programs can do for your future! Plus Spring registration is coming up and this is your chance to get insights on Spring PoliSci courses! All students are welcome!

Prof. @armenon.bsky.social and coauthor Baobao Zhang explore public views on workplace automation in their new article "Future Shock or Future Shrug? Public Responses to Varied Artificial Intelligence Development Timelines" published in The Journal of Politics. doi.org/10.1086/739200

Future Shock or Future Shrug? Public Responses to Varied Artificial Intelligence Development Timelines | The Journal of Politics: Vol 0, No ja

doi.org

Join @ucmerced.bsky.social Prof. Elaine Denny and special guest Sol Rivas (Executive Director, Valley Onward) on 11/11 at 3PM for a workshop on Imposter Syndrome. All students welcome!

"Young people end up choosing between conflict with their families and conflict with their peers" @ucmerced.bsky.social PoliSci Professor Christopher Ojeda spoke with @nytimes.com about when children of public figures go public with their dissent. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/s...

When Children of Public Figures Go Public With Their Dissent

nytimes.com

@ucmerced.bsky.social PoliSci Prof @marco-alcocer.bsky.social appeared on "Death from Mexico: War of the Drug Cartels," a European documentary on the Mexican War on Drugs, as a topic expert for the Arte channel. www.arte.tv/de/videos/12...

Konfliktzone – globale Krisen kurz erklärt - Tod aus Mexiko: Krieg der Drogen-Kartelle - Die ganze Doku | ARTE

Mexiko kämpft seit Jahrzehnten gegen Drogenkartelle, die mit Gewalt, Korruption und Milliardenprofiten das Land destabilisieren. Über 400.000 Menschen wurden getötet, mehr als 125.000 gelten als versc...

arte.tv

📰 Matt Hibbing, Tarah Williams, Paul Testa, Karra McCray Gibson & Kylee Britzman used an experimental design that allowed some participants to choose their message source, showing substantial messenger effects that would be missed by traditional experiment. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

Does the Messenger Shape the Message’s Effect? Race, Black Lives Matter, and the Efficacy of Social Movement Messages | The Journal of Politics: Vol 0, No ja

journals.uchicago.edu

Interested in @ucmerced.bsky.social's Political Science Graduate Program? Connect with our Political Science faculty and learn about graduate study opportunities during one of the upcoming 1-hour webinar/Q&A sessions. Register for a session here: polisci.ucmerced.edu/grads

Congrats to @ucmerced.bsky.social Professor @armenon.bsky.social and coauthors on their new publication "The Effect of Historical Analogies on Foreign Policy Attitudes" in Security Studies!

Yoni Abramson @yoniabramson.bsky.social · 11mo ago

(1) Are historical analogies effective as a persuasion tactic during foreign policy crises? Our new article in Security Studies finds that while exposure to analogies elicits an emotional reaction, it does not always translate into a shift in policy attitudes. 🧵: doi.org/10.1080/0963...

Bobcats! Come join us for the next Politics & Pastries event this Thursday 10/2 10:30-11:30AM in the CAPE Office. This session's faculty are Professors @courtenaymonroe.bsky.social and Elaine Denny, so come say hello and chat with them while enjoying coffee and pastries!

Please join the UC Merced Library for a Faculty Author Series talk featuring Political Science Assistant Professor Christopher Ojeda in KL 232 at noon on Oct 8. Dr. Ojeda will discuss his recent book, The Sad Citizen: How Politics is Depressing and Why it Matters. Register here: ucm.edu/fas-ojeda

Professor @marco-alcocer.bsky.social's new publication in The Journal of Conflict Resolution shows that wars between cartels in Mexico increase killings of law enforcement officers and make attacks more brazen. Check it out below! journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

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