Ideational Foundation of Statehood
Existing theories on statebuilding are mainly interested in bureaucratic and coercive dimensions of state capacity. Throughout the history, there have been alternative polities to nation-states, how do people accept that they are citizens of nation-states? Such a national identity should not be taken for granted. I advance this line of research by emphasizing the ideational dimension of statehood, the extent to which the subject populations accept the authority of the statehood.
Examination as Socialization: Unravel the Myth of Meritocracy in China
The second paper derived from my dissertation argues that meritocracy helps alleviate the principal-agent problems. It examines the tension between the state-building and political meritocracy literature by questioning whether the Imperial Chinese state was truly meritocratic. I propose a clear definition of meritocracy that includes formal examinations, testing on administrative-technical competence, and equal opportunities of competing for office. I use a novel dataset on Qing China's prefectural governments and text analysis of Confucian classics, to demonstrate that the Imperial Chinese bureaucracy might not have adhered to this definition of meritocracy. Multiple paths to power existed, the exams tested literary and ethical teachings, and access to office was geographically unequal. Nevertheless, I highlight that the Imperial Civil Service Exams served as an ideational foundation of statehood, inculcating political loyalty and homogenized worldviews among elites. This article deepens our understanding of political meritocracy and historical state formation.
From Empire to Nation-state: War, Political Entrepreneurs, and National Sovereignty in China, with Haohan Chen and Yingtian He
This paper investigates why and how non-western states embraced and integrated the Westphalian system, with a particular focus on the shift from empire to nation-state. We propose that political entrepreneurs played a crucial role in promoting the concept of national sovereignty. To test this theory, we analyze novel datasets from newspapers, focusing on China's transition from the Qing Empire to the Republic. Our findings reveal that neither the formal change in government nor the western invasion resulted in a change in the national perception of sovereignty. However, political elites played a vital part in facilitating the adoption and internalization of the Westphalian system. This study emphasizes the critical significance of ideational transformation in state formation and the role of political entrepreneurs. It adds to a deeper comprehension of state-building and nationalism.
Existing theories on statebuilding are mainly interested in bureaucratic and coercive dimensions of state capacity. Throughout the history, there have been alternative polities to nation-states, how do people accept that they are citizens of nation-states? Such a national identity should not be taken for granted. I advance this line of research by emphasizing the ideational dimension of statehood, the extent to which the subject populations accept the authority of the statehood.
Examination as Socialization: Unravel the Myth of Meritocracy in China
The second paper derived from my dissertation argues that meritocracy helps alleviate the principal-agent problems. It examines the tension between the state-building and political meritocracy literature by questioning whether the Imperial Chinese state was truly meritocratic. I propose a clear definition of meritocracy that includes formal examinations, testing on administrative-technical competence, and equal opportunities of competing for office. I use a novel dataset on Qing China's prefectural governments and text analysis of Confucian classics, to demonstrate that the Imperial Chinese bureaucracy might not have adhered to this definition of meritocracy. Multiple paths to power existed, the exams tested literary and ethical teachings, and access to office was geographically unequal. Nevertheless, I highlight that the Imperial Civil Service Exams served as an ideational foundation of statehood, inculcating political loyalty and homogenized worldviews among elites. This article deepens our understanding of political meritocracy and historical state formation.
From Empire to Nation-state: War, Political Entrepreneurs, and National Sovereignty in China, with Haohan Chen and Yingtian He
This paper investigates why and how non-western states embraced and integrated the Westphalian system, with a particular focus on the shift from empire to nation-state. We propose that political entrepreneurs played a crucial role in promoting the concept of national sovereignty. To test this theory, we analyze novel datasets from newspapers, focusing on China's transition from the Qing Empire to the Republic. Our findings reveal that neither the formal change in government nor the western invasion resulted in a change in the national perception of sovereignty. However, political elites played a vital part in facilitating the adoption and internalization of the Westphalian system. This study emphasizes the critical significance of ideational transformation in state formation and the role of political entrepreneurs. It adds to a deeper comprehension of state-building and nationalism.