Dr Handi Li

Handi Li stands in front of a university campus building. The background to this image has been extended to the left and right with generative AI, based on the background originally in the image

Lecturer in Political Science
Room: 4.02, 29/30 Tavistock Square
Email: handi.li@ucl.ac.uk
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Biography

I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Political Science at University College London. Before joining UCL, I was a postdoctoral fellow jointly at Peking University and Princeton University. I received my Ph.D. at Emory University in 2022. My research focuses on information politics and state-society relationships in autocracies, with regional expertise in China.

Research

Across various projects, I examine the causes and consequences of transparency and information manipulation. I also study contentious politics and the political economy of development. Methodologically, my research employs formal modeling and statistical methods for causal inference that utilize observational data and experiments. I have conducted field surveys and interviews with underprivileged people in China.

My book project investigates China’s transparency initiative for government policy and behavior and its role in the governance game between the central government, local governments, and citizens.

Publications

Books

Arnon, D., Edwards, P., & Li, H. (2023). Message or Messenger? Source and Labeling Effects in Authoritarian Response to Protest. Comparative Political Studies, 56(12), 1891-1923. https://doi.org/10.1177/00104140231168361

Teaching

I teach modules on Democracy and Authoritarianism, and Chinese Politics.