Amy Liu

Amy Liu is a Professor and Interim Chair in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in ethnic politics, language politics, and migration politics with a regional focus on Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan. She holds a Ph.D. from Emory University and serves as Director of Graduate Admissions and Placement in her department.

• Education
  • Ph.D., Emory University

Her research explores intersections of language and politics, including how official language policies affect social trust, economic growth, and minority integration. She has conducted fieldwork across Asia, Europe, and the U.S., often analyzing the Chinese diaspora through empirical and comparative frameworks.

Recent publications highlight her expertise in ethnic conflict, linguistic heterogeneity, and authoritarian regimes, with methodological innovations like machine-assisted coding and spatial analysis. Her work spans Comparative Race and Ethnic Politics, environmental policy, and gender and intersectionality in cabinets.

She leads the PRE Lab (Political Research and Education) and has secured course development grants from the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies and the Center for Asian Studies.

Her teaching includes courses on the Politics of English Language, Language, Politics, and Culture, and Comparative Race and Ethnicity, emphasizing global case studies like Australia, Canada, the European Union, and India.