My name is Yang, and I am currently pursuing an MA in Political Science at Tartu University in Estonia. Ex-ante, I earned my undergraduate degree in American Studies at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Budapest, where I cultivated an interdisciplinary understanding of history, politics, and culture.
My research interests centre on authoritarianism, democratization, quantitative methods and the mechanisms of authoritarian resilience, with a particular focus on China, Hong Kong and their global implications. I am especially interested in applying organizational theory to explore the institutional design of power transitions among Chinese leaders. This includes analyzing how the 1982 constitution reflected Deng Xiaoping’s vision of intra-party constraints in terms of the term limits and separation of party and state apparatus and examining whether Xi Jinping’s “imperial” rule has disrupted the institutionalization of leadership transitions at the apex of Chinese politics. Besides that, I am working on my MA thesis regarding how China diffuses authoritarian rule through economic investment and aid to African and other Global-South countries.
I am thrilled to join this project as a co-author specializing in minority politics in Taiwan. My work aims to investigate the interplay of political representation, ethnic identity, and social mobility, contributing to a deeper understanding of these critical issues. At the current stage, I am seeking doctoral positions in the EU and Hong Kong. I look forward to collaborating with the team and making meaningful contributions to our shared research goals.