Publications:
"Softening the Iron Cage: A Theory of Collusion and Adaptation in Bureaucracy,"
European Journal of Political Economy, Forthcoming, 2026, with Zanhui Liu and Yucheng Qiu
"Backsliding under Contested Oversight,"
Political Science Research and Methods, Forthcoming, 2026, with Robert Gulotty
"Is There Really a Dictator's Dilemma? Information and Repression in Autocracy,"
American Journal of Political Science, 70(1), 381-395, 2026, with Scott Gehlbach, Anton Shirikov, and Dmitriy Vorobyev
"Lying in Persuasion,"
Games and Economic Behavior, 152, 93-112, 2025, with Arturas Rozenas
"Institutional Change and Development from a Dynamic Perspective,"
China Economic Journal, 18(2), 196-208, 2025, with Tianyang Xi
"Theories of Democratic Backsliding,"
Annual Review of Political Science, 67(1), 71-88, 2024, with Edoardo Grillo, Monika Nalepa, and Carlo Prato
"Ruling the Ruling Coalition: Information Control and Authoritarian Power-Sharing,"
Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 18(2), 182-213, 2023, with Arturas Rozenas
"Democracy and Its Vulnerabilities: Dynamics of Democratic Backsliding,"
Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 18(1), 105-130, 2023, with Adam Przeworski
"Leadership Styles and Survival Strategies of Chinese Communist Party Elites,"
Journal of Politics, 83(2), 125-139, 2021, with Junyan Jiang
"Why are the Fastest Growing Countries Autocracies?,"
Journal of Politics, 81(2), 663-669, 2019, with Adam Przeworski
"Strategies of Election Rigging: Trade-offs, Determinants, and Consequences,"
Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 13(1), 1-28, 2018, with Arturas Rozenas
"The Election Monitor's Curse,"
American Journal of Political Science, 62(1), 148-160, 2018, with Arturas Rozenas
Working Papers:
"A Relational Theory of Power Alternation," with Zanhui Liu, Yucheng Qiu, and Shuyi Yu
2026 APSA Formal Theory Section Best Paper Award
"Dynamics of Central-Local Relations in Centralized States," with Zanhui Liu, Yucheng Qiu, Tianyang Xi, and Hongding Zhu
"Sustaining Democracy under the Shadow of Force," with Adam Przeworski and Hongding Zhu
"A Relational Theory of Autocracy," with Scott Gehlbach and Spencer Pantoja
"Aristocratic and Bureaucratic Norms in Political Agency Relationship," with Zanhui Liu, Yucheng Qiu, and Shuyi Yu
"Self-Enforcing Power Dynamics"
"Discriminatory Persuasion"
"Political Stake and Policy Experimentation," with Shuo Chen and Tianyang Xi
"One-Party State," with Adam Przeworski
"Softening the Iron Cage: A Theory of Collusion and Adaptation in Bureaucracy,"
European Journal of Political Economy, Forthcoming, 2026, with Zanhui Liu and Yucheng Qiu
"Backsliding under Contested Oversight,"
Political Science Research and Methods, Forthcoming, 2026, with Robert Gulotty
"Is There Really a Dictator's Dilemma? Information and Repression in Autocracy,"
American Journal of Political Science, 70(1), 381-395, 2026, with Scott Gehlbach, Anton Shirikov, and Dmitriy Vorobyev
"Lying in Persuasion,"
Games and Economic Behavior, 152, 93-112, 2025, with Arturas Rozenas
"Institutional Change and Development from a Dynamic Perspective,"
China Economic Journal, 18(2), 196-208, 2025, with Tianyang Xi
"Theories of Democratic Backsliding,"
Annual Review of Political Science, 67(1), 71-88, 2024, with Edoardo Grillo, Monika Nalepa, and Carlo Prato
"Ruling the Ruling Coalition: Information Control and Authoritarian Power-Sharing,"
Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 18(2), 182-213, 2023, with Arturas Rozenas
"Democracy and Its Vulnerabilities: Dynamics of Democratic Backsliding,"
Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 18(1), 105-130, 2023, with Adam Przeworski
"Leadership Styles and Survival Strategies of Chinese Communist Party Elites,"
Journal of Politics, 83(2), 125-139, 2021, with Junyan Jiang
"Why are the Fastest Growing Countries Autocracies?,"
Journal of Politics, 81(2), 663-669, 2019, with Adam Przeworski
"Strategies of Election Rigging: Trade-offs, Determinants, and Consequences,"
Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 13(1), 1-28, 2018, with Arturas Rozenas
"The Election Monitor's Curse,"
American Journal of Political Science, 62(1), 148-160, 2018, with Arturas Rozenas
Working Papers:
"A Relational Theory of Power Alternation," with Zanhui Liu, Yucheng Qiu, and Shuyi Yu
2026 APSA Formal Theory Section Best Paper Award
"Dynamics of Central-Local Relations in Centralized States," with Zanhui Liu, Yucheng Qiu, Tianyang Xi, and Hongding Zhu
"Sustaining Democracy under the Shadow of Force," with Adam Przeworski and Hongding Zhu
"A Relational Theory of Autocracy," with Scott Gehlbach and Spencer Pantoja
"Aristocratic and Bureaucratic Norms in Political Agency Relationship," with Zanhui Liu, Yucheng Qiu, and Shuyi Yu
"Self-Enforcing Power Dynamics"
"Discriminatory Persuasion"
"Political Stake and Policy Experimentation," with Shuo Chen and Tianyang Xi
"One-Party State," with Adam Przeworski
