Associate Senior Lecturer & Research Scholar, Harvard Dep of EALC . East Asia. Author, “Where the Party Rules: The Rank and File of China's Communist State”
Joined July 2012
- Tweets 134
- Following 314
- Followers 1,164
- Likes 228
23 Photos and videos
1 Nov 2025
What am I doing wrong? In Japan’s LDP primaries on October 4, based on LDP members’ support, @takaichi_sanae should have been awarded 132 delegate votes instead of just 119, as officially announced. I apply d’Hondt by prefecture 都道府県ごと, as per LDP rules (p.48). Help please!
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30 Jun 2025
For the first time, the Chinese Communist Party reports >100 mio members (end of 2024), according to data released today 12371.cn/2025/06/30/ARTI1751…. Contrasting with party building efforts of previous years, the number of party cells in companies 企业基层党组织 stagnated at 1.6 mio.
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29 Apr 2025
Published: My book review of A. Walder analyzing big aberrations during China’s Cultural Revolution. A militarily well-connected faction, inflammatory rhetoric, and an escalation-prone hierarchy, plus crimes of opportunity, resulted in infamous atrocities: pacificaffairs.ubc.ca/book-r…
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23 Nov 2024
China’s Cultural Revolution was most violent in Guangxi. How could things go so wrong? Andrew Walder’s masterly analysis illuminates the ostensibly enigmatic events, with broad implications for CR research. My book review @PacificAffairsis now accessible: pacificaffairs.ubc.ca/book-r…
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1 Dec 2023
Harvard's Fairbank Center now invites applications for two post-doc fellowships. Exciting theme: “Global Firms and Rival States: Business, Transnational Commerce, and China’s Rise." Postdocs will join a research group led by Meg Rithmire and @david_yang:
fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/pro…
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29 Oct 2023
Harvard offers a new summer program in Shanghai, for 2024, with two courses: My course “East Asian Development Models” places transformations of China's economy into the context of other experiences in East Asia.
summer.harvard.edu/study-abr…
Thanks to inspiration from @BillKirbyHBS.
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26 Oct 2023
What a pleasure to visit @UMich! I shared findings on how the CCP penetrates firms, how party cells/cttees influence business decisions - with implications for China's future economic governance. youtu.be/FAnV9axugTY Thanks for their hospitality to @MaryGao and @MichiganChina
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Daniel Koss retweeted
6 Oct 2023
What's It Like To Study China-Africa Relations At Harvard? @KossDaniel @ChinaGSProject tinyurl.com/4s42eude @MazzucatoM @BethanyAllenEbr @nglinsman @Halsrethink @Brad_Setser @michaelxpettis @M_C_Klein @davidpilling @rainerkattel @zeithistoriker @EliDFriedman @ChinaBeigeBook
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14 Sep 2023
Is China the largest investor in Africa? Not by UNCTAD reporting standards, where China is "only" the fifth largest investor economy in Africa by FDI stock in 2021: unctad.org/system/files/non-…
(Does this include Hong Kong? Two years ago, Hong Kong was reported separately.)
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28 Aug 2023
Courses at Harvard start next week, and I am thrilled to offer another iteration of "China and the African Continent" - hoping for many contrasting perspectives in the classroom, and good insights through the creative assignments.
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21 Jul 2023
Way down in an organization chart of Germany's
@bmwk
I discovered a brand new section in charge of "Economic Security" (not yet in English version). For comparison: Far more prominently, Japan appointed @takaichi_sanae as Minister of State for Economic Security 経済安全保障担当.
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17 Jul 2023
Now released: In 2022, CCP membership grew by 1.37% (net). This seems little compared to 3,68% growth in 2021, but let’s remember the special membership drive celebrating the CCP's 100th birthday. 1.37% is very close to the average growth rate under Xi Jinping of 1,43% (2013-22).
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14 Jul 2023
Are CCP networks in firms all powerful? @TheEconomist economist.com/china/2023/07/… just cited my research on challenges that the CCP is facing, with the example of family linkages undermining party authority. Clearly, CCP is trying to fix “clanification” 家族化 cambridge.org/core/journals/…
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7 Jul 2023
China's high speed rail network is transformative. In his new book, Beijing University's Xiao Ma unpacks the very messy negotiations (Beijing versus local governments) determining which localities get the best rail connections first. My review: journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10…
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12 Jun 2023
Xi’s China prioritizes party-building. But what exactly changes when the CCP asserts greater authority in firms? Just out, my article on banks argues that party-building transforms everything from discourses to corporate procedures and business decisions: muse.jhu.edu/pub/43/article/…
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31 Mar 2023
Just out: My background brief on new vectors of CCP influence in China's financial sector, to illuminate emerging modes of economic governance in Xi's "new era." Glad to contribute to the informative series housed at @berthofmanecon-directed EAS Singapore: research.nus.edu.sg/eai/wp-c…
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3 Feb 2023
My first visit to a US think tank, a fantastic experience! @CSISFreeman recorded podcast on the CCP building powerful party networks in companies, also by using discipline inspections; and afterwards shared insights into DC's China policy process. Thanks! csis.org/podcasts/pekingolog…
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6 Jan 2023
My spring seminar will discuss China’s authoritarian ruling party CCP, along with East Asia’s other super-resilient, albeit democratic ruling party, Japan’s LDP. Will I be able to use the Xi/Kishida poster in the future? Or need to update the poster in the course of the semester?
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1 Nov 2022
In leading German newspaper, @Dana_Heide assesses the rising influence of party cells on business decisions by German firms in China - and firms' hesitation to be transparent about the CCP's presence:
handelsblatt.com/politik/int…
I gladly contributed, with @doyon_jerome and @nisgreen.
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4 Jul 2022
CCP membership data are now available for 2021. Historically unprecedented: 4.4 million Chinese citizens joined the party in one year. This breaks the record of 3.2 million recruits in 2012, and by a huge margin. Simply to celebrate the centennial? Compare dangjian.people.com.cn/n1/20…
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