Dan Koev, Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Dan Koev is passionate about teaching and researching comparative politics and international relations. He aims to synthesize a Christian ethical foundation with an empirical approach to studying political phenomena.

Koev has taught international relations, comparative politics, contemporary global problems, American foreign policy, research methods, and senior seminars. He is recognized for working closely with students to help them grow and accomplish their educational and career goals.

Koev says, “I emphasize the cultivation of moral virtue and transferrable skills—critical thinking, writing, research design principles—that will serve students well regardless of the path they choose in life. Few things in life are as rewarding as seeing my students’ progress over time as thinkers and people.”

Koev’s research interests include religious liberty, church-state relations, secularization, ethnic politics, and nationalism. His research has been published in the peer-reviewed academic journals Politics and Religion, Party Politics, Nations and Nationalism, East European Politics, and Journal of Human Rights. His current research project is a book on the causes of global religious decline.

Koev was born in Yambol, Bulgaria, and emigrated to the United States as a child. He became a naturalized American citizen in 2005. He is married with two children and enjoys reading, playing and watching soccer, cooking and spending time with his family.

Credentials

Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

B.A. in Political Science, Bemidji State University

Publications

“The Influence of State Favoritism on Established Religions and Their Competitors.” Politics and Religion (2023) 16.1, pp. 129-159.

"Ethnic minority party formation and success in Europe." East European Politics (2022), 38:1, pp. 83-100.

“Not Taking it on Faith: State and Religious Influences on European Court of Human Rights Judges in Freedom of Religion Cases” in Journal of Human Rights (2019) 18.2, pp. 184-200.

“Why Ethnic Parties? A New Theory of Ethnic Minority Political Strategy in Europe” in Nations and Nationalism (2019) 25.1, pp. 229-297.

“Interactive Party Effects on Electoral Performance: How Ethnic Minority Parties Aid the Populist Right in Central and Eastern Europe” in Party Politics (2015) 21.4, pp. 649-59.

Affiliations

American Political Science Association, Member

Southern Political Science Association, Member

Awards

2019 – First place, 2019 WorldQuest Knowledge Competition on international issues in Norfolk, VA (as part of the Regent University faculty team)

2013 – Named to University of Illinois List of Teachers Ranked Excellent

2011 – Awarded “High Pass” on Comparative Politics Qualifying Exam, University of Illinois

2011 – Named to University of Illinois List of Teachers Ranked Excellent

2010 – Named to University of Illinois List of Teachers Ranked Excellent

2009 – Named to University of Illinois List of Teachers Ranked Excellent