Jianan Du

I am a Ph.D. student in Political Science at Northwestern University, specializing in comparative politics with a focus on Chinese politics, bureaucracy, and religion. Before joining Northwestern, I received my M.A. in Political Science from Columbia University and my B.A. from Beijing Foreign Studies University.

My research explores the intersection of bureaucratic institutions, political behavior, and religious and folk beliefs, with particular attention to how traditional beliefs persist and shape political and economic activities in modern China. More broadly, I am interested in challenging conventional understandings of modernization and secularization by examining how seemingly premodern beliefs coexist with, and sometimes become embedded within, modern state institutions.