ABOUT ME

Welcome to my website!

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I am a PhD Candidate in Political Science at the University of California, San Diego. I study propaganda and information control in authoritarian regimes, with a special focus on how these governments redefine democracy and related norms such as human rights to reinforce their legitimacy. In my dissertation, I combine quantitative text-as-data methods, field research, and original survey experiments to trace the origins of democratic rhetoric in authoritarian systems, analyze its manifestation in domestic and international discourse, and evaluate its impact on the capacity for social control and on public perceptions of regime legitimacy.

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My regional expertise spans Southeast and Northeast Asia, with a substantive focus on Vietnam and China. I am also pursuing research on the international relations of the Asia-Pacific, ASEAN, LGBT politics in Vietnam, and applications of AI to qualitative research methods.

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​I hail from Da Lat, Vietnam, but later moved to Beppu, Japan, where I obtained a Bachelor degree in International Relations and Peace Studies from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. In 2019, I became a Yenching scholar and obtained a Master in Law degree (Politics and International Relations) from Yenching Academy, Peking University two years later. During my time at Peking University, I was also a Baixian scholar affiliated with Baixian Asia Institute, working on research projects studying historical narratives and historical reconciliation in East an Southeast Asia. I have been residing in San Diego since 2021. In 2024, I was awarded the Master of Arts in Political Science by UC San Diego.  While working on my academic publications, I find joy in contributing to popular outlets such as The Diplomat Magazine and East Asia Forum.

 

If you want to get to know more about me as a person, please visit my Personal page.