Political scientist, China and Asia specialist at the University of Toronto, who researches authoritarianism, contention and development.

Author. Teacher. Public Intellectual.

Welcome. I am a Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto, jointly appointed to the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy’s Asian Institute. I am also a Faculty Fellow at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, and an appointed Senior Fellow at the NYC-based Asia Society’s Center for China Analysis.

I am the author of Outsourcing Repression: Everyday State Power in Contemporary China (Oxford University Press, 2022), The Street and the Ballot Box: Interactions Between Social Movements and Electoral Politics in Authoritarian Contexts (Cambridge University Press, Elements Series in Contentious Politics, 2022), and Prosper or Perish: Credit and Fiscal Systems in Rural China (Cornell University Press, 2012).

Outsourcing Repression has received four Best Book Awards from the American Political Science Association, the American Sociological Association, and the International Studies Association, including the prestigious ASA’s Distinguished Contribution to Political Sociology. I am also a recipient of the UofT Faculty of Arts & Science Dean’s Research Excellence Award.

My academic publications have appeared in Perspectives on Politics, Journal of Comparative Politics, Journal of Democracy, Foreign Affairs, China Quarterly, China Journal, among others.

My research has been covered in The Economist, New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, etc.

I direct a dedicated team of student researchers at the University of Toronto in the Social Unrest in China dataset project. Read the data and my analysis on the White Paper Protests in the April 2023 issue of the Journal of Democracy.

My research interests lie at the intersection of authoritarianism, contentious politics, and political economy of development. While I am primarily an expert on China, I have also published on Southeast Asia and India. I received my PhD from the Australian National University. I have held An Wang Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard University’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, as well as visiting fellowship at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and numerous prestigious universities across Asia.

I have been invited to deliver expert testimonies before the US Congress’ US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, and Canada’s House of Commons Special Committee on Canada-China Relations on numerous occasions. My opinion pieces have appeared in Foreign Affairs, The Economist, Foreign Policy, Washington Post MonkeyCage Blog, LA Times, South China Morning Post, Globe and Mail, etc.

I have held various administrative positions including Director of Munk School China Initiative, Acting Director of the Contemporary Asian Studies Program (2012-14), and Director of East Asia Seminar Series (2012-2015; 2017-2020) at the Asian Institute.

I am a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese. Prior to entering academia, I worked as a state economic planner and private consultant in corporate Singapore. My earlier work experience has enriched my academic perspectives.

Check out the student-led Social Unrest in China dataset project which I direct here.

Get in touch if you’d like to be involved.

Email: Lynette (dot) Ong (at) utoronto (dot) ca.

Recent Writings and Appearance

  • Book Talk at the Asia Society Headquarter, New York, June 28, 2023.

    Video available here.

  • Journal of Democracy, Print Essay.

    “The CCP After the Zero-Covid Fail”, Journal of Democracy, April 2023.

    Drawing on a protest event dataset, I analyze the key characteristics of the Zero-Covid protests, before situating them in the larger context of China’s political future under Xi Jinping’s rule. I also analyze the medium to long-term implications of the Zero-Covid debacle for state-society relations and the regime.

  • Foreign Affairs

    “China’s Epidemic of Mistrust: How Xi’s COVID-19 U-Turn Will Make the Country Harder to Govern”, January 11, 2023.

    “China’s system of daily governance, its everyday state power, hinges on public trust. The CCP relies on the willing participation of society at large to implement its policies. The erosion of trust in the wake of Xi’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis could shake the very foundation of this system.” This article analyzes what the sudden abandonment of the Zero-Covid Policy meant for the ordinary people.

  • The Economist. By Invitation.

    “The Chinese Government Exercises Control Through Local Busybodies.” December 1, 2022.

    The CCP has relied on local busybodies (volunteers and neighborhood committees) to rule society and implement everyday challenging policies. The unprecedented pushback against them during Zero-Covid may have long-term implications for the CCP’s governance. The Party will fret that citizens no longer trust them, which affects how the Party-state controls society.