Political science

Xiaoxiao
Shen

Assistant Research Professor, Department of Political Science, Northeastern University · Project Fellow, Penn Project on the Future of U.S.–China Relations, University of Pennsylvania

Welcome! I am Xiaoxiao Shen, Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Political Science at Northeastern University and a Project Fellow with the Penn Project on the Future of U.S.-China Relations at the University of Pennsylvania. My research examines the domestic and international politics of authoritarian regimes, with a focus on China — how its authoritarian system shapes domestic public opinion, and how the state seeks to influence public opinion and discourse abroad. I extend this attention to political communication into the infrastructure that carries it, and I study how this digital infrastructure is becoming a site of political alignment, security cooperation, and digital governance across countries. My research also extends to methodological development, such as an interactive platform I designed for studying online deliberation, which I use to conduct a wide range of experiments on political communication and human-AI interaction. Before joining Northeastern, I was a Postdoctoral Associate in East Asian Studies at the Yale MacMillan Center and a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Yale University. I received my Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University.

Curriculum vitae Google Scholar X LinkedIn

Boston, Massachusetts

Northeastern UniversityCurrent

Assistant Research Professor, Political Science

University of PennsylvaniaCurrent

Project Fellow, Penn Project on the Future of U.S.–China Relations

Yale University

Postdoctoral Associate, MacMillan Center · Lecturer, Political Science

Princeton University

Ph.D. in Politics

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Political communication, digital infrastructure, and the methods to study both

Three connected lines of inquiry, moving from what authoritarian states say, to the digital infrastructure that carries it, to the methods needed to study both.

01
Authoritarian politics & communication
How China’s authoritarian system shapes domestic public opinion in the digital era, and how the state seeks to shape public opinion and political discourse abroad.
02
Digital infrastructure & geopolitics
How the digital infrastructure underlying communication — submarine cables, 5G networks, and data centers — is becoming an instrument of geopolitical competition, and how this reshapes political alignment, security cooperation, and digital governance across countries.
03
Methods & measurement
How the questions raised by these two lines of research require new methodological instruments, and how tools such as ReChat, an interactive platform designed for studying online deliberation, can be extended to the study of human-AI interaction and its implications for AI safety.

Education

Ph.D., PoliticsPrinceton University
M.Phil., Social ScienceHong Kong University of Science and Technology
B.Sc., Mathematics with StatisticsImperial College London

Published or forthcoming in

Political Psychology
British Journal of Political Science
Governance (twice)
World Development
Journal of Experimental Political Science
Political Science Research and Methods
Survey Research Methods
Research & Politics
Elgar Encyclopedia of Political Communication
Pacific Affairs
H-Diplo/RJISSF Roundtable

PEER-REVIEWED PAPERS

202609
When Propaganda Resonates
Shen, Xiaoxiao ·Political Psychology, 47, e70181
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202508
Silent suffering: Depression, perceived inequality, and political trust
Chen, Xing, Xiaoxiao Shen ·Research and Politics, 12(3)
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202507
The Effects of Forced Versus Selective Propaganda Exposure in China
Xiaoxiao Shen ·Political Science Research and Methods, 1–21
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202506
Retrieving True Preference under Authoritarianism
Baik, Jongyoon, Xiaoxiao Shen ·Survey Research Methods, 467–482
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202405
Introducing ReChat: A Lab-in-the-Cloud for Text Discussions
Xiaoxiao Shen, William Small Schulz ·Journal of Experimental Political Science
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202304
Pollution Matters: The Political Impact of Information Disclosure
Chen, Xing, Xiaoxiao Shen, and Andong Zhuge ·Governance
- China Public Administration Academic Annual Conference 2023 — Third Prize for Excellent Papers
- CPSG (APPAM) Runner-up for 2024 Best Policy Research Article Award
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202003
Can Social Welfare Buy Mass Loyalty? Evidence from China
Yang, Wenhui, and Xiaoxiao Shen ·Governance
- CPSG (APPAM) 2021 Best Policy Journal Article Award
- CAAPA 2022 Wang Wen Best Young Scholar Award
- Featured in The Academic Times
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202002
In Search of Self-Censorship
Xiaoxiao Shen, and Rory Truex ·British Journal of Political Science
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201601
Institutional Adaptability in China: Local Developmental Models under Changing Economic Conditions
Xiaoxiao Shen, and Kellee S. Tsai ·World Development, Vol. 87
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INVITED CONTRIBUTIONS

202504
Preference Falsification
Xiaoxiao Shen, and Eddy S. F. Yeung ·Elgar Encyclopedia of Political Communication, Edited by Alessandro Nai, Max Grömping, and Dominique Wirz. Edward Elgar Publishing
Read the paper
—03
ReChat: A Cloud-Based Platform for Structured Real-Time Text Interaction
Xiaoxiao Shen ·Invention DisclosureWork in progress
202602
Review of Institutional Genes: Origins of China's Institutions and Totalitarianism, by Chenggang Xu
Xiaoxiao Shen ·Pacific Affairs
Read the paper
—01
Review of The Art of State Persuasion, by Frances Yaping Wang
Xiaoxiao Shen ·H-Diplo/RJISSF RoundtableForthcoming

BOOK PROJECT

When Propaganda Resonates

Book Conference hosted at Yale University · September 26, 2024

Software patent

ReChat

A configurable chat platform for conducting online deliberation experiments, supporting human-to-human, human-to-AI, and AI-to-AI conversation modes. Social scientists can administer, monitor, and analyze conversations under parameters of their choosing. Permanent U.S. patent granted.

Patent no.
US11843470B2
Granted
December 2023
Platform
reso.chat

Teaching Experience

Courses taught

2026
Undergraduate course
China: Governance and Foreign Policy
Course Instructor · Northeastern University
Fall 2023
Undergraduate course
Political Psychology in Comparative Politics
Course Instructor · Yale University
Summer 2023
Junior Summer Institute
Introduction to Microeconomics
Teaching Assistant · Princeton University
Spring 2021
Undergraduate course
Chinese Politics
Head Preceptor, Teaching Assistant · Princeton University
Course evaluation
Fall / Spring 2020
Undergraduate course
Introduction to Quantitative Social Science
Head Preceptor, Teaching Assistant · Princeton University
Course evaluation
Spring 2019 / 2020
Graduate course
Understanding Comparative Politics
Teaching Assistant · Hong Kong University of Science and Technology