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 sits at the intersection of communication technology and politics, with a particular focus on gender and East Asia.

My dissertation investigates how modern communication technologies (mobile devices, 3G, 4G, and 5G) reshape political outcomes. The first chapter, “Empowering the Ruler or the Ruled: How 3G Influences Government Human Rights Practices,” shows how MCTs affect government repression and accountability. Building on this, the second chapter, “Government and Its Oppositions: Modern Communication Technologies as Whose Weapons?” asks when governments—especially authoritarian regimes—choose to expand MCT infrastructure. The third chapter uses a controlled comparison of China and South Korea to demonstrate how regime type shapes strategic responses to these technologies. Together, these chapters argue that MCTs have destabilizing potential but are also managed strategically by states.

Beyond the dissertation, my research extends in two directions: the gendered effects of technology on politics and broader questions of East Asian political development. My work has been supported by the Ashley T. Judd Distinguished Graduate Fellowship (OPSVAW, 2023–2024) and published in Asian Survey.

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