Jiajia Zhou

I am a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto and an Associate at the Centre for the Study of Global Japan. I specialize in the fields of comparative politics and public policy. My dissertation project seeks to clarify the populist threat to democracies through a comparative perspective of political parties and policy processes in advanced industrial democracies. Using a mix of quantitative empirical analyses and elite interviews, I show how two facets of the party organization—the local party on the ground and the central body shaping policy and legislative processes—provide resilience against the populist threat.

I possess in-depth contextual knowledge of Japan and East Asia more broadly and am fluent in three languages (English, Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese). I graduated with an M.A. in Regional Studies: East Asia from Columbia University and a B.A. (Hons) in Japanese Studies and Economics from the National University of Singapore.

My research has received support from the Japan Foundation, the National University of Singapore, the Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (SYLFF) Association, and the Tan Kah Kee Foundation.

Born and raised in Singapore.

Publication
"Supporting Variability in Women’s Lifestyles: A Study of Single-Motherhood Transition in South Korea and Japan." Journal of Asian Public Policy 12, no.2 (2019): 125-143. (with Jennifer So) [peer-reviewed article]

Working Papers
"Institutional Racism in International Relations" (with Phillip Y. Lipscy). Revise and Resubmit at International Organization

"Clarifying the Threat of Populism: Place and Party Organizational Strength" (latest version available upon request)

"Stabilizing the Pursuit of Policy Discretion: A Comparative Study of Policy Processes"