Biography

My research focuses on the political behaviors and attitudes of immigrants and minorities in developed democracies, situating my work at the intersection of comparative political behavior, political psychology, and identity politics. My dissertation explores how intergroup relations between natives and immigrants shape immigrants’ political integration in the context of anti-immigrant sentiment in Belgium and Germany. 

Research Interests

  • Comparative Politics
  • Identity politics
  • Immigrant integration
  • European politics
  • Political Psychology
  • Intergroup Relations

Education

  • MA. Political Science and International Relations, Korea University
  • BA. French Literature and International Studies, Korea University  

Grants

  • Marion Morse Wood Fellowship, 2025–2026
  • Ferber & Sudman Dissertation Awards for Survey Research, 2025
  • MZES Visiting Fellowship, 2025
  • Graduate College Dissertation Travel Grant, 2024
  • Immigration Research Initiative (IRI) Visiting Fellowship, 2024
  • German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Scholarship, 2023
  • Conference Travel Grant: APSA2025, PRIEC 2023, UIUC 2022-2025
  • European Parliament Trainee Fellowship, Korea Foundation, 2018

Awards and Honors

  • Rita and Leonard Ogren Prize for Academic Achievement, University of Illinois, 2022
  • University of Illinois Teachers Ranked as Excellent, FA2021, SP2022
  • Best Graduate Thesis Proposal, Korea University, 2018

Courses Taught

  • PS201 U.S. Racial and Ethnic Politics
  • PS385 Politics of the European Union

Recent Publications

  1. Younghyun Lee, Florencia Piñeyrúa, Christian Czymara, and Max Weber. (2026) "Linguistic Polarization in Minority Representation: Analyzing Parliamentary Speeches in Germany and the UK (1980 - 2021)".  In: Keijzer, M.A., Lorenz, J., Bojanowski, M. (eds) Computational Social Science of Social Cohesion and Polarization. Computational Social Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-01373-6_7

  2. Seyoung Jung, Younghyun Lee, and Cara Wong. (2025) "What Can Dual Citizens Teach Us about Political Engagement?" Political Science Research and Methods, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1017/psrm.2025.10053 

  3. Younghyun Lee and Sanghoon Kim-Leffingwell. (2025). Engaged but targeted? How immigrants vote against anti-immigrant agendas in Europe. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2025.2589904 

  4. Younghyun Lee and Nam-Kook Kim. 2019. ”Divergent Paths of Integration in the Post-Multicultural Era: Interculturalism in Spain and Civic Integration in France”. Journal of European Union Studies 53: 3-48. doi:10.18109/jeus.2019..53.3