Welcome!

I am Jingwen Wu (吴静雯), a Ph.D. candidate in Government at the University of Texas at Austin, working with Tiffany Barnes. My research examines how digital technologies shape political outcomes, with a particular focus on gender and East Asia.

My dissertation investigates how modern communication technologies (MCT)—including mobile devices and 3G, 4G, and 5G networks—reshape politics. I argue that digital infrastructure is not a neutral public good, but a strategic variable that governments calibrate for regime survival.

The first chapter, “Empowering the Ruler or the Ruled: How 3G Influences Government Human Rights Practices,” examines how these technologies alter the balance between state repression and accountability. Building on this, the second chapter, “Whose Weapons? Modern Communication Technologies and the Strategic Logic of Provision,” develops a theory of how governments strategically calibrate the expansion of communication infrastructure in response to political risk. The third chapter uses a controlled comparison of China and South Korea to show how regime type shapes state responses to emerging technologies. My dissertation together shows that while digital technologies carry destabilizing potential, states actively manage and deploy them for regime survival.

Beyond my dissertation, my research advances a broader theoretical agenda on how digital technologies reshape political power. I focus on two interconnected areas: the gendered political consequences of technology and political development in East Asia, particularly China, with a growing emphasis on AI governance.

My work has been supported by the Ashley T. Judd Distinguished Graduate Fellowship (OPSVAW, 2023–2024). It has appeared in Asian Survey and is forthcoming in the Journal of Peace Research.

I hold a Master’s in Political Science from the University of Kentucky and a Master of Public Administration from Morehead State University, where I graduated as the Outstanding MPA Student. I earned my undergraduate degree from Minzu University of China.

My CV is available here.

You can reach me at: jwu12351[AT]gmail[DOT]com