Brent Nelsen

Brent Nelsen received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin in 1989 and began teaching at Furman in January 1990.

Nelsen’s teaching and scholarship focus on Europe and the European Union. His first book, entitled The State Offshore: Petroleum, Politics, and State Intervention on the British and Norwegian Continental Shelves (Praeger), explored oil policy in the North Sea. A subsequent edited volume—Norway and the European Community: The Political Economy of Integration (Praeger)—examined the troubled relationship between Norway and an integrating Europe. Nelsen has teamed up with one of his former students (Alexander Stubb, former Prime Minister of Finland) to publish a textbook on the European Union called The European Union: Readings on the Theory and Practice of European Integration (Lynne Rienner Publishers). The fourth edition was published in May 2014.

For over two decades, Dr. Nelsen has been studying the relationship between religion and politics in Europe. He has published several journal articles on how religion shapes the attitudes of Europeans toward the EU, including, “Losing Faith: Religion and Attitudes toward the European Union in Uncertain Times,” with colleague James L. Guth, JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 58(4)(2020). His book on the subject, Religion and the Struggle for European Union: Confessional Culture and the Limits of Integration, co-authored with Dr. Guth, was published by Georgetown University Press in 2015. Recently, Dr. Nelsen has turned his attention to the rise of populist parties in Europe. He and Dr. Guth published, “Party Choice in Europe: Social Cleavages and the Rise of Populist Parties,” in Party Politics 27(3)(Spring 2021).

In 2010 Nelsen ran unsuccessfully for State Superintendent of Education. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley later appointed him chair of the Educational Television Commission. She appointed him to a second six-year term in 2014. He resigned from the Commission in 2019. President Obama nominated him to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Board of Directors. His nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in August 2013. He completed his term in 2016.

Dr. Nelsen married his wife Lori in 1981. Lori Nelsen is the founder and co-owner of Oak Hill Café and Farm, a nationally recognized farm-to-table restaurant in Greenville. They have three children and two grandchildren.

Finally, Dr. Nelsen loves to read, run, hike, bike, garden—and take students on travel-study tours to all of his favorite places in Europe!