Ongoing Research Projects

Grant Period : Jul 2025 - Jun 2030

Faculty : Dean DULAY

What explains voting behavior in Southeast Asia? Large swaths of academic research have examined the cognitive, psychological, and behavioral foundations of voting behavior for citizens in advanced democracies. Yet there are few studies that systematically analyze the behavioral rationales behind vote choice in countries with poorly functioning democracies and weak political institutions. To the extent that they are examined, voters are given limited cognitive agency—who they vote for is usually the product of elite-structural considerations like clientelism and patronage, or otherwise they are simply fooled by “misinformation” or propaganda.

My research program examines the behavioral logics underpinning how voters in weak democracies make the choices that they make. It combines multi-year voting data, survey experiments, and qualitative interviews to develop theories of why voters make the choices they do. I examine two factors as particularly salient: personalism and regionalism. These two factors often determine significant variation in vote choice, yet little is known about each. Is regionalism a function of ethnic affinities, rational policy choice, or shared group identity? Is personalism alignment with policy, values, or charisma? Understanding these underlying factors would greatly improve our understanding of how voters think—and how they choose who to vote for—not only in Southeast Asia but in the rest of the Global South. 

Grant Period : Mar 2025 - Mar 2028

Faculty : Selina HO Li Ching

In sum, this project will contribute to plugging the gaps in the current empirical and theoretical literature on Chinese power and behavior. It will be the first systemic and comparative study of Chinese behavior in managing shared water resources with its neighbors, The project is inter-disciplinary and will speak to a large audience as I draw concepts and frameworks from political science and international relations, geography, anthropology, sociology, and environmental science.

Grant Period : Oct 2024 - Sep 2029

Faculty : Alessio ALBARELLO

I plan to analyze institutional structures in democratic systems and their effect on policymaking processes and outcomes, and how these structures and policies in turn affect how people behave. My research will span broadly, but it will also focus on immigration policy, and gender and politics. A few questions I plan to answer are:

- What are the conditions that favor immigrant integration in host societies?
- What are the political incentives and costs that parties and countries face in favoring or
hindering immigration?
- What are the factors that still prevent women to be equally represented in political institutions?
- How can women increase access to political positions?

The geographic scope will be broad, but it will also concentrate in the U.S., Europe, and East Asia. The primary mode of research employs secondary data analysis, survey and experimental methods, and archival work.

My work is highly relevant as it addresses two critical aspects of contemporary political inequality: citizenship and gender. Immigration has surged in recent decades, with foreign-born populations now comprising significant portions of many countries, such as 30% in Australia and Germany. This demographic shift has contributed to political realignment, with anti-globalization parties gaining traction as many populist voters express concerns about rapid changes in the cultural and ethnic makeup of their countries. Understanding the political consequences of immigration is crucial today, as it significantly influences policymaking, social cohesion, and economic policies in numerous nations worldwide.

Women's representation in politics is crucial both for normative reasons and for its impact on policy outcomes, yet achieving gender parity in political institutions remains one of the most persistent global inequalities. Despite their greater numbers, women face higher barriers to entry and advancement in political offices. Additionally, women's policy preferences are often penalized compared to those of men. Therefore, deepening our understanding of the causes of female under-representation in politics is essential for promoting policies that can help create a more egalitarian society.

Grant Period : Nov 2023 - Apr 2027

Faculty : LIU Yao, Adam

I study how Southeast Asians’ economic preferences affect their foreign policy preferences, especially security policy preferences, amidst China-US rivalry. The project has three components. The first is a traditional survey that uses canonical trade theories to predict individual’s security policy preferences. The second is specifically about choosing sides, where different trajectories of development in China and the US will be randomized in a conjoint experiment. The final component is a vignette experiment on a showdown between in the Taiwan Strait. Randomized are the predicted probabilities of US intervention. The goal is to assess how individuals wish their governments to respond.