David Samuels (political scientist)

David J. Samuels is an American political scientist. He earned his PhD at the University of California, San Diego in 1998. He is Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota, USA.

Samuels specializes in comparative politics, and Brazilian politics. He is the author of Ambition, Federalism, and Legislative Politics in Brazil (Cambridge University Press, 2003), and has published articles in many of the field's top journals. These works, including "Separation of Powers" in the Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics. His work has been cited over 2,600 times, and led to his receiving a University of Minnesota Distinguished McKnight University Professorship.