Research Interests

Participatory budgeting, political parties and organization, comparative political institutions, transnational contentious politics, social movement and election, Latin American politics, Brazil, Hong Kong.

Publications

Book Review (solicited)

  • Book review of Democracy at Work: Pathways to Well-Being in Brazil (Brian Wampler, Natasha Borges Sugiyama, and Michael Touchton. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 2020) (The Developing Economies 2021).

Working Papers

  • "How Citizens Meet the State: Police Contact, Trust, and Civic Engagement" (with Jacob Turner) [submitted]
  • "Voice After Exit: How Transnational Ties Shape Hong Kong American's Political Engagement and Voting Behavior” (with Victoria Hui)
  • “Resistance from Afar: Evolution of Contentious Repertoires in Hong Kong Diaspora's Transnational Mobilization during the 2019 Anti-ELAB Movement”
  • "Party Organization Matters: The Diffusion of PB under the Workers' Party in Brazil"
  • "The Tentacles of Participatory Budgeting: Cross-Party Diffusion of PB in Brazil​" 

Ongoing Projects

Hong Kong Voices in the US

Co-investigator with Victoria Hui
This is the first survey of its kind that examines the political attitudes of Hong Kongers who have lived, worked or studied in the United States, and Americans who have similar strong ties to Hong Kong. The project aims to examine how the vote choice of Hong Kong-Americans in the 2020 U.S. elections is impacted by the political turmoil in Hong Kong.

The preliminary survey is available at the The Diplomat
Panel Discussion co-sponsored by the Liu Institute of Asia and Asian Studies and Kellogg Institute for International Studies (Jan 20, 2021)

Trump Factors in Hong Kong and Taiwan

Co-investigator with Hans H. Tung and Victoria Tin-bor Hui
This project aims to tease out the driving factor for the surge of Trump’s support among Hong Kongers and Taiwanese during the 2020 US elections.

How Citizens Meet the State: Origins of Institutional Trust in South Bend, IN

Co-investigator with Jacob Turner
How do the interactions with distinct state organizations such as the police, public healthcare workers, and other civil servants influence political attitudes and behaviors? Our preliminary investigation and theoretical framework suggests that exposure to police violence can undermine the positive impact of quality public goods on feelings of inclusion and trust.

Concluded Projects

Comparative Assessment of Electoral Risks (CAER)

Co-investigator with Paul Friesen, Ilana Rothkoph, Luis Schenoni and Romelia Solano
The CAER surveyed 150 members of political science professional associations who specialize in elections, both in the US and abroad, for their evaluations on the likelihood and impact of various threats to the US electoral process, as well as possible strategies to mitigate those threats.

Panel discussion sponsored by the Keough School of Global Affairs (Oct 26, 2020)
The report American Democracy at Risk: A Global Comparative Perspective is available HERE.

Presidential Transition Index (PTI)

Co-investigator with Paul Friesen, Rachel Gagnon, Shadwa Ibrahim, William Kakenmaster and Denis McDonough
The Presidential Transition Index (PTI) aims to identify potentially weak areas of the US presidential transition process and to provide the public with a weekly updated assessment of the state of the 2020 presidential transition process.

Weekly updates are available HERE.
The preliminary report Presidential Transition Index: Contemporaneous Assessments of the Trump-Biden Transition is available HERE.

In the Press:

Workshops and Panels