Areas of Interest

  • Comparative politics (with a focus on China): Chinese domestic politics; Chinese foreign policy; Chinese political economy.
  • International relations: US-China Relations; conflict; IR theories.
  • Political philosophy: Marxism; liberalism.
CV: Kainan GAO_CV.pdf152.32 KB
Personal Website
https://gknkmno4.wixsite.com/my-site

Degrees

  • Degree Type
    PhD.
    Degree Details
    Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland, College Park, 2024
  • Degree Type
    M.I.A.
    Degree Details
    School of Global Policy and Strategy, UC San Diego
  • Degree Type
    B.A.
    Degree Details
    Faculty of Social Sciences

Research

  • Dissertation: “Domestic and international political logic of Chinese and Russian historical mythmaking of WWII”.
  • Available now at UMD digital repository: https://drum.lib.umd.edu/items/12b83e60-de60-4b8c-ba9f-8010f93ae4ed.
  • Published work
  • Gao, Kainan, and Margaret M. Pearson. "The role of political networks in anti-corruption investigations." China Review 22, no. 2 (2022): 81-111.
  • An analysis on China’s elite political network, co-authored with Professor Margaret Pearson.
  • Work in progress
  • “Chinese politics and Lockdown of Shanghai in 2022”.
  • A discussion on the cause, rationale and political intrigues behind China’s lockdown of Shanghai in 2022, just before the 20th Party Congress.
  • “Lying-flat and birth rate collapse under China’s New Normal”
  • A discussion of China’s new challenges in economic development, political legitimacy, and social stability in the new era.

Research Topics

  • Comparative Politics
  • International Relations
Kainan Gao