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

Author. Teacher. Public Intellectual.

Welcome. I am the Distinguished Professor of Chinese Politics at the University of Toronto. I have appointments at the Dept of Political Science and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. I am a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Asia Society’s Center for China Analysis, and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

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 accolades from the American Political Science Association, the American Sociological Association, the International Studies Association, and the Canadian Political Science Association, including the prestigious ASA’s Distinguished Contribution to Political Sociology, the CPSA Prize in Comparative Politics, and Honorable Mention of APSA’s Gregory Luebbert Award in Comparative Politics. 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, New Yorker, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Globe & Mail, etc.

I direct a dedicated team of student researchers at the University of Toronto in the Social Unrest in China dataset project.

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, Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute 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