Hyein Yang

Name Pronunciation: Hyein (Hayne), Yang (Yahng)

I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions (CSDI) at Vanderbilt University. I received my Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University.

I study American presidency and executive politics, federalism, and judicial politics. My research explores how state-level actors can check presidential power within the vertical checks and balances system. In my dissertation, I examine how State Attorneys General use litigation against the president to stymie presidential policy initiatives. This paper received both the APSA Law and Courts Best Conference Paper Award and Best Graduate Student Paper Award. Additionally, I examine how state AGs' lawsuits against unilateral actions by the president can serve as indirect behavior checks by shaping public opinion and increasing the political costs of the president's use of unilateral power. I further explore whether state AGs' active legal challenges against opposing party's president are rewarded in elections.

Before coming to Cornell, I earned my M.A. degree in International Relations and B.A. degrees in International Relations and Korean History at Seoul National University in South Korea.

You can reach me out through my E-mail or Calendly.

Here's my CV.

Research

Peer-Reviewed Publication

"Legal Constraint through Political Means? Legal Foundations and Public Supports for Executive Action"

Aaron Childree, Hyein Yang, and Douglas Kriner, The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization (2025)

Working Papers

"The Vertical Checks and Balances: State Attorneys General and State Litigation"
"State Attorneys General, Legal Challenges, and Public Support for Presidential Unilateralism"
"Legal Battles Against the President: Are State Attorneys General Rewarded in Elections?"

Work in Progress

"Legal Cooperation in the Vertical Checks and Balances System: Network Analysis of State Attorneys General and Multi-state Litigation."

"How Does a Presidential Partisan Shift Shape Public Views on Federal, State and Local Government?" (with Douglas Kriner)

Teaching

Cornell University

GOVT 2162 US Public Opinion (with Dr. Talbot Andrews), Spring 2026

GOVT 3161 The American Presidency (with Dr. Douglas Kriner), Spring 2024

GOVT 3032 Politics of Public Policy (with Dr. Jamila Michener), Fall 2023

GOVT 1111 Introduction to American Government and Politics (with Dr. Suzanne Mettler), Fall 2022, 2025

GOVT 1313 Introduction to Comparative Government and Politics (with Dr. Nicolas van de Walle), Spring 2022, 2023

Korean Language Across the Curriculum, (Main Instructor), Spring 2022, 2024

GOVT 3112 Congress and the Legislative Process (with Dr. David Bateman), Fall 2021

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