International Relations Theory

​Combining both Cognitive and Motivational Factors: Toward a New Theory of Threat Perception

While numerous psychological studies have shown that individuals are subject to both unmotivated and motivated biases when seeking to judge whether others are a threat, this insight has not been fully integrated into IR theory. This paper develops a new theory of threat perception, the first of its kind, that incorporates both cognitive and motivational influences on the emergence of perceived threat.

Before Uncertainty: Certainty as a Prerequisite for Hedging

In collaboration with Alex Yu-Ting Lin, this paper examines the scope conditions of the emergence and durability of hedging as a strategy. While existing literature has tended to focus on strategic uncertainty as the main cause of hedging, we theorize that strategic certainty is an equally important prerequisite for the origins and sustainability of hedging. This paper helps 

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Chinese Foreign Policy

Ingroup Orientations, Generalized Trust, and Attitudes towards Outgroups: Uncle Sam in the Eyes of Chinese Citizens

This project is carried out in collaboration with Hsin-Hsin Pan, Wen-Chin Wu, and Ming-Hua Huang.  Drawing on the psychological literature, this project demonstrates how ingroup orientations (such as nationalism) and generalized trust affect how Chinese citizens evaluate the US influence on their nation-state. This project sheds some light on the debate on whether a nationalistic China will necessarily view the US as a threat to its rise.