UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy

Summer’s here, and you don’t have a book to read? Check out this list of recommendations from GPS faculty! 📚

Our professors offered up selections ranging from literary fiction to history and analyses of current events, so there’s something for everyone.

🔗 Find what piques your interest:

The books you should read in summer 2026 GPS faculty share their reading picks, covering everything from books about San Diego surfing to the flight (and failure) of the Concorde…

Commencement marked the end of graduate school but the beginning of impactful careers for the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy Class of 2026. 🎓

As the new graduates gathered to celebrate their achievements, the commencement speakers challenged the graduating class to use their training to solve problems and overcome divisions — even when their expertise is met with skepticism.

🔗 On GPS News, read some of the inspirational remarks from GPS Dean Caroline Freund, GPS ‘96 alumnus Trac Pham and Master of Public Policy graduate Katrina Haidari: https://ow.ly/fV5F50Zft8P

In honor of Juneteenth, UC San Diego will be closed on Friday, June 19.

Novels on Authoritarian Rule: Summer Reading Edition 📖

In his book review series for the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) blog, Professor Stephan Haggard focuses on the particular ways eight novels shed light on autocratic rule, from “The Trial” by Franz Kafka to “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding.

🔗 Read more:

Novels on Authoritarian Rule IV: Summer Reading Edition - IGCC Novels on Authoritarian Rule IV: Summer Reading Edition June 02, 2026 Matthew Draper and Stephan Haggard Blog Over the last two decades, the social sciences have devoted significant effort to understanding the causes and consequences of authoritarian rule, and the challenges it poses to democracy. Y...

Can changing when elections are held have an effect on political polarization? 🗳️

In emerging research, Professor Zoltan Hajnal finds that more moderate voters show up to the polls when local elections are held at the same time as national and state contests, and they are also more likely to vote for more moderate candidates.

🔗 Read more on GPS News: https://ow.ly/jTt850ZaJ3p

One way to reduce polarization: lump elections together Emerging research from Zoltan Hajnal finds that more moderate voters show up to the polls when local elections are held at the same time as national and state contests…

Congratulations to the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy Class of 2026 — you did it! 🎓

Are labor unions the "bulwark of democracy" that some have claimed? A working paper co-authored by Professor John Ahlquist examines the role of unions in preventing and resisting democratic backsliding.

🔗 Read on the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) website: https://ow.ly/13fG50Z7l3C

Labor Unions Are Not the “Bulwark of Democracy” - IGCC In this working paper, John Ahlquist, a professor at UC San Diego, and Theodoros Ntounias, a PhD candidate at UC San Diego, examine the role of labor unions in preventing and resisting democratic backsliding. They argue that unions' power has declined to the point where their preventive influence is...

How can researchers reconstruct economic activity in opaque regimes or information-scarce regions? 🔎

Professors Stephan Haggard and Munseob Lee co-authored a new study which outlines a toolkit to do just that, incorporating methods like satellite imagery of nighttime lights, price monitoring and text mining.

🔗 Read more about the paper, which frames investigating economic black holes as a form of "forensic economics”: https://ow.ly/YRMK50Z7MIv

In the World’s Economic “Black Holes,” Data Still Leaks Out ​​​​​​​From satellite imagery to clandestine price reports, a new study draws on North Korea to explore economic activity in opaque regimes and information-scarce regions…

While the price of equipment has declined in recent decades, the cost of structures is rising in the U.S. and other high-income economies. 📈

In a new column, Professor Munseob Lee examines this countervailing trend and what it means for policy:

Cheaper machines, costlier buildings: The drag on long-run growth The steady decline in the relative price of equipment has long been seen as a primary engine of long-run growth. This column documents a quieter, countervailing trend. In the US and other high-income economies, the relative price of structures has been rising for half a century. It now offsets a sub...

What’s the first thing people want to know when a decision is uncertain? 🎲

Professor Uma Karmarkar studies how people make everyday decisions involving high risk and uncertainty. In a new study, she asked people facing an unsure opportunity which information they want to see first – the potential reward, or the odds of getting it.

🔗 Read about the findings:

Risk or Reward: What’s the First Thing People Want to Know When a Decision Is Uncertain? 1Q, 1A – where we ask one question and an expert gives one answer…