A member of the Geneseo faculty since 2014, Dr. Karleen West advanced to the rank of associate professor in 2018, and to professor in 2021. She has a strong record of scholarship, teaching, and service, including receipt of a SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship (2021), the SUNY Geneseo Academic Affairs Outstanding Commitment to Geneseo's Value of Learning Award (2020), and, with Dr. Suann Yang (Biology) the SUNY FACT2 Award for Excellence in Instruction (2020) for the DOMES Curriculum on Sustainability. Dr. West served in the Provost's Office as Interim Vice Provost for Academic Affairs during academic year 2023-24, and now serves as Chair of the Department of Political Science & International Relations.
Dr. West is currently co-Principal Investigator of an NSF ADVANCE grant focused on the retention and advancement of women in STEM at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), with Wendy Pogozelski (Geneseo), Chavonda Mills (Georgia Gwinnett College), Josephine Rodriguez (UVA Wise), and Sally Wasileski (UNC Asheville).
For more information, visit Karleen West on Academia.
Research Interests
Professor West specializes in Latin American politics, with an emphasis on comparative institutions, political representation, and the politics of sustainability. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Latin American Public Opinion Project, and has been published in leading journals, including Comparative Political Studies and the Latin American Research Review . Her book Candidate Matters: A Study of Ethnic Parties, Campaigns, and Elections in Latin America , with Oxford University Press, examines how indigenous legislative candidates approached their political campaigns in Ecuador, and shows how individual candidates can threaten party unity in certain electoral environments.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Iowa, August 2008
M.A. in Political Science, University of Iowa, May 2003
B.A. in Spanish and Political Science, with Honors summa cum laude , University of Arizona, May 2001
Employment
Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, SUNY Geneseo, 2021 - current
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, SUNY Geneseo, 2018 - 2021
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, SUNY Geneseo, 2014 - 2018
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, West Virginia University, 2008 - 2014
Documentary Film Based on Research
Who Speaks for Nature? A Film by Larry Engel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXEawtC_Kj8&feature=youtu.be
Books
Candidate Matters: An Analysis of Campaigns and Elections in Latin America. 2020. Oxford University Press. Website: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/candidate-matters-9780190068844
Who Speaks for Nature? Indigenous Movements, Public Opinion, and the Petro-State in Ecuador. With Todd Eisenstadt. 2019. Oxford University Press. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/who-speaks-for-nature-978019090…
Articles
“Small versus Statewide Parties: How Subnational Contestation and Decentralisation Influence Presidential Elections in Europe and Latin America” (with Jae-Jae Spoon). 2020. Political Studies Review 18(1): 145-159.
“Coordination and Presidential Coattails: Do Legislative Parties Benefit from Presidential Coalitions?” (with Jae-Jae Spoon). 2017. Party Politics 23(5): 578-588.
“Indigenous Belief Systems, Science, and Resource Extraction: Climate Change Attitudes in Ecuador” (with Todd Eisenstadt). 2017. Global Environmental Politics 17(1): 40 - 58.
“Public Opinion, Vulnerability, and Living with Extraction on Ecuador's Oil Frontier: Where the Debate between Development and Environmentalism Gets Personal” (with Todd Eisenstadt). 2017. Comparative Politics 49(2): 231 - 251.
"Decentralization, the Inclusion of Ethnic Citizens, and Support for Democracy in Latin America?" 2015. Latin American Research Review 50(3): 46 - 70.
"Bottoms Up: How Subnational Elections Predict Parties? Decisions to Run in Presidential Elections in Europe and Latin America" (with Jae-Jae Spoon). 2015. Research & Politics Accessible here: http://rap.sagepub.com/content/2/3/2053168015602039
"Alone or Together? How Institutions Affect Party Entry in Presidential Elections in Europe and South America?" (with Jae-Jae Spoon). 2015. Party Politics 21(3): 393-403. DOI:10.1177/1354068812473870.
"Veto Players Revisited: Internal and External Factors Influencing Policy Production?" (with Hoon Lee). 2014. Legislative Studies Quarterly 39(2): 227-260.
"Credibility vs. Competition: The Impact of Party Size on Decisions to Enter Presidential Elections in South America and Europe?" (with Jae-Jae Spoon). 2013. Comparative Political Studies 46(4): 513-539.
"Programmatic or Personalistic? Pachakutik Strategies in Ecuador's 2006 Elections." 2011. The Latin Americanist 55(1): 49 - 68.
Classes
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PLSC 344: Climate Change Ldrship and Pol
In this course we consider global perspectives on climate change realities and ask questions about how humanity is addressing them. Who are the leaders in the fight against climate change? What do they know? How can social science help us craft the best possible decisions and interventions? These inquiries boil down to one great question: Can humans collectively step up to save the planet?
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PLSC 490: Top: Global Environ Politics
This course will focus on a special topic within the discipline of Political Science of the instructor’s choosing. Students will produce a research paper, and participate in weekly discussions on readings assigned by the instructor.