Overview
I study how the way state power is legitimized shapes inequalities within communities. My book “The Policing Machine: Enforcement, Endorsements, & the Illusion of Public Input” (2024, University of Chicago Press) is about how police resist institutional reforms by cultivating political capital from the community constituents they empower.
My research has appeared in journals like the American Journal of Sociology, Criminology, Law & Society Review, and Social Problems. It has won awards from the American Sociological Association, American Society of Criminology, and Law & Society Association, and has been supported by the Russell Sage Foundation and an NSF CAREER Award. I have a Sociology PhD from Yale University and a J.D. from NYU Law School.
Personal website: http://www.tonykcheng.com