Political scientist · UCLA
Luwei Ying
Assistant Professor of Political Science
I study international conflict and security, with a focus on how extremist and militant movements recruit, communicate, finance themselves, and adapt to efforts to contain them.
My research uses text, maps, networks, and open-source records to trace these dynamics across borders and over time.
Research
Questions I work on
My work connects the ideas movements express with the resources, institutions, and political pressures that shape what they do.
View research-
01
Words and mobilization
How propaganda turns abstract ideology into belonging, status, and political action.
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02
Pressure and adaptation
How military force, border policy, sanctions, and online platforms reshape political movements.
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03
Evidence at scale
New multilingual, geospatial, and network data for questions conventional sources cannot reach.
Current book
The Logic of
Terrorist Propaganda
A comparative study of what militant movements say, whom they seek to mobilize, and why those appeals change.
The manuscript draws on a large multilingual archive of militant publications, alongside internal records, social media, and interviews.
About the projectTeaching
Start with the world.
Then choose the tools.
I teach world politics, political violence, and data-driven political research. My courses begin with real political problems and help students ask better questions, evaluate evidence, and choose tools with care.
Teaching and courses