Here are some of my recent and ongoing projects:
with Seng-Yee Sin and Min-Hua Huang
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has seen a resurgence of autocratization in the years following the Arab Spring, with many countries now under leaders who have held power for over a decade, such as Morsi in Egypt, Erdoğan in Turkey, and Saied in Tunisia. In the face of this renewed autocratization, how do the people of the MENA region—who once demanded democratization—feel about the increasingly authoritarian nature of their political systems? Do citizens hold authoritarian governments accountable for economic failures by decreasing their trust in political institutions? This article explores why some countries maintain stable authoritarian regimes, while others struggle with unstable democracies, by considering two key moderating factors: state capacity and democratic quality, including representativeness, accountability, and effectiveness. This thesis argues that when state capacity is high, this autocratization brings a decline in political trust; where state capacity is low, autocratization facilitates the centralization of resources and the establishment of order, and the decline in political trust does not necessarily exist, yet allows authoritarian governments to obtain a higher popular mandate. In sum, this paper aims to explain the persistence of stable authoritarianism and the instability of democratic regimes in the post-Arab Spring era through the lens of public accountability.
Autocratization, Accountability, State Capacity, Economic Failure, MENA
with Hung-lin Yeh
Since Mahathir Mohamad's tenure as Prime Minister (1981–2003), Malaysia has significantly elevated its diplomatic standing under the concept of Moderate Diplomacy. This approach has positioned Malaysia as an influential actor in Middle Eastern affairs and among Islamic countries while maintaining amicable relations with Western nations through its image as a Muslim-majority secular state. However, as Malaysia's engagement with the Islamic world has deepened under the framework of Moderate Diplomacy, mainstream public opinion and political parties have increasingly shifted towards supporting the implementation of Islamic law and the establishment of an Islamic state (Negara Islam). This trend has gradually challenged the constitutional foundation of Malaysia as a secular state. This study argues that while Malaysia's Moderate Diplomacy has expanded its influence within the Islamic world, the broader Islamic revivalist movement has contributed to ideological conflicts with Western countries and intensified domestic political contestation. Opposition parties advocating for Islamization have increasingly challenged the secular ruling establishment. As a result, Malaysia is undergoing a gradual transformation from a secular state towards an Islamic state paradigm, shaped by both international geopolitical dynamics and domestic political struggles.
Moderate Diplomacy, Negara Islam, Malaysia, Religious Shift, Southeast Asia