Hengfeng Zhao

Profile

My research broadly focuses on authoritarian and illiberal norms within non-Western contexts.

My doctoral thesis examines how member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation localise illiberal counter-terrorism, anti-extremism, and anti-separatism norms across discourse, legislation, and societal levels. It also investigates the factors that account for variations in these localisation approaches. In this thesis, I employ a set-theoretic multi-method approach, combining qualitative comparative analysis and (comparative) case studies.

Research interests

• Forthcoming in Global Studies Quarterly (GSQ): My research examines the varying reception of human rights and non-intervention norms promoted by China and Russia across 28 non-Western middle powers, analysing the factors that influence differential norm adoption and resistance.

• To be presented at the 2025 European Workshops in International Studies (EWIS): This project advances current norm research by exploring how norms can as both contingent and intersubjective simultaneously. I develop a post-structuralist theoretical framework drawing on Laclau's works and apply it to analyse how the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation accommodates divergent member state responses to Russian invasions.

• Presented at the 2025 British International Studies Association (BISA): Building on the typology of anti-extremism practices developed in my thesis, I lead a collaborative research initiative comparing anti-extremism approaches across Bangladesh, China, Nigeria, and Somalia, examining cross-national variations in policy implementation and effectiveness.

• To be presented at the 2025 EISA ECW (Early Career Researchers) Workshop: This project innovates the "boundary work" framework to analyse China's approach to global AI governance, examining how China constructs "us" versus "them" boundaries to reshape international standards and alliances. I develop a typology of four boundary work strategies revealing how China positions itself as both defender of established practices and innovator of inclusive standards whilst building counter-Western coalitions through initiatives like the Digital Silk Road.

• Ideological analysis at the national level: I investigate how Sinophone YouTube content creators critical of the Chinese Communist Party articulate anti-CCP political positions that frequently align with populist and illiberal ideologies. This research encompasses two methodological approaches: critical discourse analysis and qualitative comparative analysis, with the latter presented at the 2024 British Association for Chinese Studies (BACS) conference.

Qualifications

• Joint Master of Arts in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University and Nanjing University