Wicked problems—like bigotry, discrimination, poverty, and inequality—are virtually impossible to solve. They are inherently complex, with multiple causes. One wicked problem is often the symptom of another. Some are subject to fierce debate over whether they should even be considered a social problem.
My research examines such wicked problems, and the role of policy (in)action to address them, in three general areas:
How social policies affect marginalised populations, in often unintended—and disproportionately negative—ways.
How government, civil society, and public opinion can exacerbate or mitigate inequalities that arise from social policies.
How institutional responses to problems have further blurred the lines between states, markets, & societies.
I believe research needn’t always be 'data-driven' to be worthwhile. Asking new questions, positing creative hypotheses, & undertaking thought experiments can also bring us closer to improving policy and wellbeing.
Civil society, NGOs, & social organisations
My book, Social Organizations and the Authoritarian State in China published by Cambridge University Press in 2013, explores why the growing number of NGOs in China has not led to the political change theories of civil society predict.
I explain this puzzle by showing how such growth is due largely to NGOs' willingness to be 'self-limiting' in their behaviour and activities. In positing the concept of ‘co-dependent relations’ to describe state-society interaction, I argue that the contingent nature of NGO development strengthens authoritarianism in China more than weakens it.
Book talk at the Wilson Center
I’m interested in the entire 'life cycle' of social organisations, especially how NGOs deal with the 'success paradox': when an organisation does its job too well, key financial resources and political opportunities can be lost. While this means ‘death’ for some, others are re-born, evolving into new organisational forms.
My conceptual and theoretical work seeks to better understand how government organised non-governmental organisations (GONGOs) fit into the larger picture of organisational change around the world.
Talk at U. of Alberta
Sexuality, gender identity & social policy
I research a wide range of issues related to sexual and gender identity, primarily from a political economy perspective and in a comparative context. My work has demonstrated:
How HIV/AIDS funding shaped gay activism in Singapore and China, and how lesbian activists in China and Myanmar deal with ‘invisibility’ without such funding.
How the strategic ‘self-limiting’ behaviour of Chinese LGBT activists impedes transnational advocacy networking.
The disproportionate and negative effects that social policies have on gays and lesbians.
How language affects public support for transgender rights in the UK and US
The impact of ‘lifestyle stigma’ on support for publicly-funded prevention and treatment of HIV, HPV, and type 2 diabetes in Britain, and how attitudes towards sexually-stigmatised groups affects public support for health care expenditures in times of cost-cutting.
Publications
My research has been published in a variety of top journals and academic presses, indicative of its broad, multidisciplinary appeal. A full and frequently updated list of publications can be found in my CV.
Book
Social Organisations and the Authoritarian State in China Cambridge University Press, 2013 (paperback 2015)
Reviews
‘The mix of theory, detail, and insight make this an important book. Researchers of social movements, civil society, and authoritarianism as well as international donors and policy-makers will enjoy reading this book.’ Perspectives on Politics
‘Illuminating reading with rich data that deepens our understanding of state-society relations in contemporary China. It makes important contributions to scholarship on the roles of social organizations, not only in China, but also in authoritarian contexts in general.’ American Journal of Sociology
‘An outstanding study, highly recommended for a wide variety of audiences.’ Pacific Affairs
Articles & book chapters
The construction and performance of citizenship in contemporary China, (w/ C Hsu, J Hsu, R Hasmath, J Teets) Journal of Contemporary China, Online. DOI: 10.1080/10670564.2022.2030993 [open access]
Volunteerism and democratic learning in an authoritarian state: the case of China (w/ J Teets, R Hasmath J Hsu, C Hsu) Democratization, 2021, Online. DOI: 10.1080/13510347.2021.2015334
Citizens’ expectations for crisis management and the involvement of civil society organisations in China (w/ R Hasmath, J Teets, J Hsu, C Hsu) Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 2021, OnlineFirst. DOI: 10.1177/18681026211052052
Responsibilization and sexual stigma under austerity: surveying public support for government-funded PrEP in England (w/ L. Bode & J.S. Ng), Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 2020 [open access]
The effect of ‘lifestyle stigma’ on public support for NHS-provisioned pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and preventative interventions for HPV and type 2 diabetes: a nationwide UK survey, with L. Bode & J.S. Ng, BMJ Open, 2019 [open access]
Conceptualizing government-organized non-governmental organizations, with R. Hasmath & J.Y.J. Hsu, Journal of Civil Society, 2019 [in Chinese 中文简体; in Russian Русская версия]
The One-Child Policy, Eldercare, and LGB Chinese: A Social Policy Explanation for Family Pressure, Journal of Homosexuality, 2019 [LSE eprint]
The next trans-Atlantic frontier: Examining the impact of language choice on support for transgender policies in the UK and US, with L. Bode, Atlantic Journal of Communication, 2018 [LSE eprint]
Negotiating in/visibility: the political economy of lesbian activism & rights advocacy, with L.J. Chua Development and Change, 2017 [LSE eprint]
’Going Out’ or Staying In? The Expansion of Chinese NGOs in Africa, with R. Hasmath & J.Y.J. Hsu, Development Policy Review, 2016 [LSE eprint] [in Chinese 中文简体]
From NGO to Enterprise: The Political Economy of Activist Adaptation in China, in NGO Governance and Management in China, eds. R. Hasmath & J.Y.J. Hsu (Routledge, 2015) [chapter proof]
From Health Crisis to Rights Advocacy? HIV/AIDS and gay activism in China and Singapore, with L.J. Chua, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 2014
The Domestic Politics of Humanitarian Intervention: Public Opinion, Partisanship and Ideology, with C. Hillebrecht, P. Holm, & J. Pevehouse, Foreign Policy Analysis, 2013
Development and Division: The Effect of Transnational Linkages and Local Politics on LGBT Activism in China, Journal of Contemporary China, 2012
Understanding the challenges and rewards of social-ecological research in China, with J Van Den Hoek, J Baumgartner, E Doucet-Beer, B Robinson, J Zinda, Society & Natural Resources, 2012
The Political Economy of Social Organization Registration in China, The China Quarterly, 2011
Same-sex Marriage in China? The Strategic Promulgation of a Progressive Policy and its Impact on LGBT Activism, Review of International Studies, 2011
Works in progress
Civic participation in China
Through longitudinal, large N, cross-national surveys, this project seeks to better understand how growing volunteerism shapes, and is shaped by, notions of citizenship and class in China. It is timed to also explore the effect of China's new Social Credit score system on this behaviour. I’m collaborating with some of the world’s top scholars of Chinese civil society: Reza Hasmath (Alberta), Carolyn Hsu (Colgate), Jennifer Hsu (UNSW), and Jessica Teets (Middlebury).
Together, we are exploring a number of questions, for example:
In an authoritarian, bureaucratic regime such as China, does volunteerism and philanthropy teach people to hold a more ‘active’ understanding of citizenship?
Do citizens who volunteer time and/or donate money expect to play a more ‘active’ role in engaging with social problems regardless of the method of participation (state-led or citizen-led)?
Do demographic variables like socioeconomic class, gender, age, education, or geography affect volunteerism and philanthropy?
Thus far, the project has produced the following work:
Volunteerism and democratic learning in an authoritarian state: the case of China (w/ R Hasmath, J Teets, J Hsu, C Hsu) Democratization, Online. DOI: 10.1080/13510347.2021.2015334
Citizens’ expectations for crisis management and the involvement of civil society organisations in China (w/ R Hasmath, J Teets, J Hsu, C Hsu) Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, OnlineFirst. DOI: 10.1177/18681026211052052
Findings from this paper were featured in commentary our team wrote for Washington Post’s Monkey cage blog in April 2020.
The construction and performance of citizenship in contemporary China, (w/ R Hasmath, C Hsu, J Hsu, J Teets) Journal of Contemporary China, forthcoming
Organisational evolution & hybridisation
I’m doing conceptual and theoretical work on the evolution of social organisations, trying to better understand the blurring line between society, the state and the market, and the implications that has for civil society, NGO development, organisational sustainability, and even the relationship between citizens and states.
One product of this research conceptualises government-organised non-governmental organisations (GONGOs) and is published in Journal of Civil Society.
Working papers & data
I’m the founder and co-editor of the Social Policy Working Paper Series which publishes timely, policy-relevant research produced by LSE faculty, fellows, PhD students, as well as award-winning MSc dissertations.
All papers—including its inaugural working paper from my own research—are free to download.
Research project datasets (available at Dataverse)
Responsibilization and sexual stigma under austerity: surveying public support for government-funded PrEP in England, Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 2019
Examining the effect of ‘lifestyle stigma’ on public attitudes toward PrEP and other healthcare expenditures: HIV, HPV, and type 2 diabetes, BMJ Open, 2019
The next trans-Atlantic frontier: examining the impact of language choice on support for transgender policies in the UK and US, Atlantic Journal of Communication, 2018
Social Organizations and the Authoritarian State in China, Cambridge University Press, 2013
“The domestic politics of humanitarian intervention: public opinion, partisanship and ideology, Foreign Policy Analysis, 2013