Hello! I am an Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science at Colorado College.

I work at the intersection of political science, public policy, and urban studies. My main research agenda centers on political control and urban governance, with a regional focus on China. In particular, I study how urban space impacts the power dynamics between the state and society, and how the state’s pursuit of political control and stability, in turn, reshapes the built environment. This dynamic has implications for issues related to migration, inequality, and authoritarian resilience.

My broader interests include state-society relations under authoritarian regimes, particularly in areas such as (a) censorship and propaganda, (b) local-central government dynamics, and (c) prospects for civic engagement in policymaking under conditions of state control.

I adopt mixed methods in my research, including remote sensing data analysis, text data analysis, design-based inference, and interviews.

My works have appeared in the China Quarterly, the Journal of Contemporary China, and in edited volumes by the University of Pennsylvania Press. A manuscript from my book project has been accepted by the American Journal of Political Science.

Education

Cornell University

PhD · Government · 2025

Harvard University

MA · Regional Studies–East Asia · 2018

Peking University

LLB · Philosophy, Politics and Economics · 2016


Research Keywords

Political control and resistance

Urban governance

Legibility and Spatiality Authoritarian politics Contemporary China

Contact

1025 N Cascade Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80903

sma2024 [at] coloradocollege [dot] edu

Department's Web Page Google Scholar ORCID
Profile photo credited to Elissa Liu