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I am an associate professor at the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Vienna. My research focuses on state-society relations in Chinese-speaking societies. Most of my work revolves around how the state seeks to shape society, and social forces carve out space for action. I have published on popular protest, social trust, civil society and political identities. I am currently principal investigator of a European Research Council funded project ENGINEERING, where we study the evolution, perception, and impacts of the Social Credit System and related social engineering endeavors by the Chinese state, as well as popular debates and attitudes on morality, social trust and privacy.

I hold an MA (Diplom) in Social Science (Humboldt University, Berlin) and a Ph.D. in Political Science (Chinese University of Hong Kong). Before coming to Vienna, I have been postdoctoral visiting research fellow at the East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore and assistant professor at the Centre for China Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong. I am currently speaker of the Association for Social Science Research on China (ASC) under the German Association of Asian Studies (DGA).

My writing was published in area studies outlets such as the China Journal, China Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary China, or Modern China and in disciplinary journals such as European Political Science Review, Mobilization, Political Studies or Social Indicators Research. My research has been funded by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation and the European Research Council.