Kathleen Bawn

Kathleen Bawn is a Professor of Political Science at UCLA, researching political parties, electoral systems, and coalition governance. Her award-winning work redefines parties as coalitions of policy-demanding groups.

She developed hybrid courses in game theory and collective choice, integrating mathematical modeling into political science curricula. Dr. Bawn chaired dissertations on legislative behavior and electoral accountability, receiving the Jack Walker Award twice and the Heinz Eulau Award.

Publications explore how parties balance expertise and political control, with recent analyses of U.S. House nominations. She holds a PhD in Economics from Stanford.