My dissertation investigates the choice of writing -- one of the most political decisions among all aspects of language -- and explains the political dynamics and political consequences of such decisions.
My first essay studies why languages change their scripts and writing systems. I conceptualize the standardization of scripts and writing systems as political institutions and formalize the theory of script adoption as a sequential game between a state and an ethnic group. To test the model’s implications, I built an original dataset documenting script reform occurrences for languages spoken by ethnic groups in Asia and Europe since 1900.
My second essay examines the effect of script choice on political attitudes in Japan and Taiwan. The Japan study examines the implications of script variations between Sinitic characters (Kanji) and Japanese syllabaries (Hiragana and Katakana) on Japanese election posters. Drawing on image analysis of campaign posters and an original experiment, I find that script selection significantly shapes perceptions of candidates’ trustworthiness, competence, ideology, and electability. The Taiwan study further shows that the choice of two phonetic scripts of Mandarin – Zhuyin and Pinyin– affects national identities.
The third essay investigates the political implications of writing reforms on out-group attitudes. I tested the effect of script change on attitudes toward Russia after the Latinization reform in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, using six waves of data from the Central Asian Barometer Survey and a difference-in-difference design. I find that abolishing the Cyrillic script increases hostility toward Russia. The effect is particularly strong among the post-Soviet generations. I also used data from a survey experiment about the design of the Russian and Georgian languages on ballots. I find that the presence of the Russian Cyrillic script negatively affects respondents.
Gender, Ethnicity, and Intersectionality in Cabinets: Asia and Europe in Comparative Perspective, Cambridge Elements, with Amy Liu, Roman Hlatky, Keith Padraic Chew, Eoin Power, Sam Selsky, and Betty Compton.
"The framing effects of COVID-19 on ethnic intolerance: evidence from Romania." East European Politics 38, no. 4 (2022): 617-640. with Amy Liu and Eoin Power.
"Computational social science for nonprofit studies: Developing a toolbox and knowledge base for the field." VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations (2021): 1-12. with Ji Ma, Islam Akef Ebeid, Arjen de Wit, Yongzheng Yang, René Bekkers, and Pamala Wiepking.
"Three Approaches for Surveying Hard-to-Reach Communities: Evidence from the English-Limited Speakers among the Asian Americans", with Amy Liu et al.
"Attitudinal Effects of Bilingual Ballot Designs: Evidence from Three Survey Experiments", with Amy Liu and Sam Selsky.
"Attitudes towards China among the Sinic Diaspora in Asia: The Effects of Language Use at Home", with Amy Liu and Richard Turcsanyi.
"Post-Covid healthcare in the PRC", 2022, Asia Society Australia.
"Why China’s Economic Reforms Often Backslide", 2019, The Diplomat.
"Gaokao: reform and reality clash", 2019, China Policy.
"Making commercial R&D a state priority", 2018, China Policy.
"Trials in Pharmaceutical Innovation", 2017, EUROBiz.