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Research

Research Agenda

My main research program comprises three interrelated projects examining public opinion and political institutions under authoritarian rule, with China as the focus. My book project examines how autocrats can maintain the loyalty of political elites when modern autocracies must be more accountable to the public and devote more resources to meeting public demands rather than providing perks to regime allies. The second project studies how authoritarian regimes persuade the public to accept policies and actions that serve the regime’s needs but are costly to the public welfare. The third project evaluates how officials resist the increasing pressure from tightening regulations, public monitoring, and public accountability. I also have methodological interests in survey experiment methods and applying survey experiments to study identity politics and ethnic relations.

You can check my page on researchgate, Google Scholar, and CityU Scholar for more details about my publications and research.

Publications (* corresponding author)

  1. Dong, B., Walker, E., and Liu, D.,* 2025 Tolerating Violence: Public Opinions on Anti-Government Protest and State Repression, Democratization
  2. Dong, B., Liu D.*, and Yu, J., 2024, Nationalist Propaganda and Support for Costly Environmental Policies in China. Environmental Politics. Online Version; ResearchGate
  3. Li, Y., Liu, D., and Shao, L., 2024, Propaganda with Subculture: A Resource for Internet Control in China, Journal of Chinese Political Science. Online Version; ResearchGate
  4. Zhu, X., Qiu, T.*, and Liu, D*. 2024 Curbing Elite Capture or Enhancing Resources: Recentralizing Local Environmental Enforcement in China. China Quarterly. Online Version (Open Access); Download
  5. Shao, L, Liu, D.*, and Wang, F., 2024 Suppression by Mobilization: How Information Control Strategies Contain Political Criticism in Autocracies. Political Research Quarterly. Online Version; ResearchGate;
  6. Liu, D. 2023. Cooptation without Opposition: Government Response in the Authoritarian Legislature in China, Democratization. Online Version
  7. Liu, D. and Shao, L., 2023 Nationalist Propaganda and Support for War in an Authoritarian Context: Evidence from China. Journal of Peace Research. Online Version; ResearchGate
  8. Gueorguiev, D. and Liu, D., 2023 Double Standard: Chinese Public Opinion on the Hong Kong Protests, Conflict Management and Peace Science. Online Version; ResearchGate;
  9. Shao, L., Du, J., Han, R., and Liu, D.*, 2023. Racial and Gender Stereotypes in Immigration Attitudes: Evidence from China. Journal of Ethnics and Migration Studies. DOI: 0.1080/1369183X.2023.2165485. Online Version
  10. Liu. D., 2022. Policy Influence of Delegates in Authoritarian Legislatures: Evidence from China, Political Research Quarterly. Online Version, Replication Data
  11. Zhu, X., Qiu, T., and Liu, D.* 2022. Resisting Public Monitoring and Activism in Authoritarian Regimes: Evidence from Local Environmental Litigation in China. Governance, DOI:10.1111/gove.12675. Online Version, ResearchGate
  12. Liu, D.*, Carrington, N., 2021. Minority versus Minority: Partisanship and Inter-Group Competitions among Asian Americans. American Politics Research. DOI: 0.1177/1532673X211053218. Online Version, ResearchGate, Online Appendix
  13. Shao, L., Du, J., Han, R., and Liu, D.*, 2021. How does Marriage Demand Stimulate Support for Immigration in Asia? Journal of Ethnics and Migration Studies. DOI: 10.1080/1369183X.2021.1971959. Online Version, ResearchGate
  14. Liu, D. and Shao, L. 2021. Public Opinion Backlash Against China’s International Expansion. Journal of Contemporary China. DOI: 10.1080/10670564.2021.1966896. Online Version, ResearchGate, SSRN
  15. Liu, D. 2020. “Consultative Channels in the Authoritarian Policy Process: the Role of Non-Government Organizations and Their Environmental Policy Advocacy in China”. Governance, 33(2), 323-342. Online Version, ResearchGate
  16. Liu, D. 2019. “Punishing the Dissidents: the Selective Implementation of Stability Preservation in China”. Journal of Contemporary China, 28 (119), 795-812. Online Version, ResearchGate
  17. Shao, L., and Liu, D.*, 2018. “The Road to Cynicism: The Political Consequences of Online Satire Exposure in China.” Political Studies, 67 (2), 517-536. Online Version, ResearchGate

 

Under Review

  1. Can Immigrants’ participation promote citizens’ coproduction? Experimental evidence from China (with Li Shao, Juan Du and Rongbin Han)
  2. Backlash against “Naming and Shaming” and its Impact on Foreign Public Opinion (with Claudia Junghyun Kim)
  3. The Populist Pulse: Social Inequality and Political Behavior in China (with Junhao Yu)

 

Working Papers

  1. When Public and Bureaucrats Come into Conflicts: Autocrats’ Distributional Strategies in China’s Anti-Corruption
  2. Performantive Implementation in China (with Li Shao)
  3. Putnam’s Puzzle: Can Immigrants’ Participation Win the Natives’ Heart (with Li Shao, Juan Du and Rongbin Han)