I am a political scientist and sinologist with a broad range of interests in the politics, economy, and society of the Greater China region.
I am Chair Professor of Greater China Studies in the Department of Chinese Studies at the University of Tübingen, as well as the founder and current director of the European Research Center on Contemporary Taiwan (ERCCT).
I spend approximately three months each year in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong conducting fieldwork, as I firmly believe that empirical knowledge developed through sustained on-the-ground research forms the foundation of meaningful area studies. My research focuses on cross-strait relations, the cross-strait political economy, and policy processes in contemporary China. I have conducted extensive research on Taiwanese entrepreneurs operating in mainland China, the evolution of China’s Taiwan policy, state–business relations in China, and policy implementation within China’s local state.
Recent publications include, among others: “China’s Failed Imperial Outreach to Taiwan,” Issues & Studies, Vol. 62, No. 1 (2026); “Minimum Compliance in Local Policy Implementation in Contemporary China: The Case of Municipal Solid Waste Management,” The China Quarterly, No. 264 (2025), pp. 993–1011 (co-authored with Zhou Shunzi); “Policy Experimentation under Pressure in Contemporary China,” The China Quarterly, No. 253 (2023), pp. 35–56 (co-authored with Abbey S. Heffer); and The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Taiwan, 2nd edition (Abingdon/New York: Routledge, 2025).
Learning Empire 