Book Project: Politics of the Administrative Litigation System in China
Supported by Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants, APSA 2021-22
Using my original Administrative Lawsuits Dataset, built from administrative rulings published in China, this book argues that the political function of the administrative litigation system is to mark the “boundary” between citizen grievances that have a legal answer and those that do not.
Peer-reviewed Journal Articles
[3] Jongyoon Baik. Forthcoming. “When Do Autocrats Publicize Discontent? Concession and Deterrence in Chinese Media.” The China Quarterly
Why would an autocrat publicize information about citizen resistance against the government? I argue that by selectively disclosing the outcome of such resistance, autocrats signal which kinds of public challenges are permissible.
[2] Jongyoon Baik and Xiaoxiao Shen. 2025. “Retrieving True Preference under Authoritarianism.” Survey Research Methods 19(4): 467-82 [Link]
We explain how latent profile analysis (LPA), a tool to analyze survey respondents based on their answer patterns, can provide observation-based indications of preference falsification.
[1] Jongyoon Baik. 2023. “Speaking Up: Why People Dare to Sue the Government in China.” Journal of Law and Society 50(3): 344-68 [Link]
Some Chinese citizens continue to file administrative lawsuits despite low expectations of winning. I show that, precisely because litigants do not trust the court to hold the government accountable on their behalf, they find meaning in the process, in which they confront administrators and voice the injustice they experienced.
Working Papers
“The Cost of Coming Back: Authoritarian Deterrence of Persistent Challengers” with Eddie Yang. Under Review
The paper theorizes that under authoritarianism, persistent individuals—who make similar demands again after being appeased or deterred once—are more likely to be punished than pacified. Systematic punishment serves as a credible signal to future claimants that pushing through their requests does not pay off but is costly, with institutional channels minimizing the risk of hurting regime legitimacy.
“Thou Shalt Not Interfere with My Internal Affairs: China’s Foreign Policy Narrative,” with Jenna Gibson [Link]
The paper argues that China is presenting an alternative norm of sovereignty in opposition to the established liberal internationalist one that is broadly led by the United States and its allies.
“Supreme Guide to Attitude: Vocal Pitch and Emotions in North Korean TV News,” with Haohan Chen and Yiqiang Wang
“Social Trust and Citizen Preference for Dispute Resolution Institutions,” with In Hyee Hwang
“Activating Engagement: Measuring the Effect of Cultivation of Korean Soft Power,” with Jenna Gibson and Felicia Istad
Work in Progress
Immigrants in South Korea
Public opinion toward China in Asia
Book chapter: Sources of perceived judicial independence: China and South Korea
