I seek to deepen our knowledge about the ideas and institutions shaping contemporary politics and society. My current focus is on the politics of science: I investigate how the authority of scientific experts affects how states engage with society. My ongoing work on China offers new evidence and theory to comparative questions of the politics of science and suggests alternative frameworks for interpreting central questions about authority and legitimacy.

My book project, based on my dissertation, is a multi-method investigation of the politics of scientific authority in contemporary China. Merging political theory and comparative politics, I argue that we should think about science and expertise as sources of potential charismatic authority; by doing so, we can better understand fundamental questions of political authority and the sources of both deference and backlash to experts. I propose a concept of “scientific charisma” by bridging the gaps between Max Weber’s philosophy of science and his theories of political authority, and I connect the idea to similar strains of thought in China. I then explore the power of scientific charisma in China using a range of empirical methods, including documentary analysis, interviews, and a survey experiment. I argue that the party attempts to cultivate charismatic scientists while incorporating their authority into the regime’s own bases of rule. This research offers a new perspective for understanding the sources of legitimate rule in China and creates an alternative angle for thinking about global concerns of scientific distrust and technocracy.

In addition to this project, I am conducting research about state-scientist relations in China, politics and technocracy in Taiwan, and political ideas about scientific objectivity. I have working papers or in-progress research looking at expert advisory commissions during Taiwan’s pandemic response; the merger of technocracy and populism in Asia; propaganda campaigns about contemporary science; and comparative questions of democracy and expertise.

I have wide-ranging interests in topics across political science, sociology, and theory, and have previously conducted research on social policy and political economy in both the United States and China.

Curriculum Vitae

For a full list of publications, education, in-progress work, and more, please find my CV here.