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Melanie Manion CV

Vor Broker Family Distinguished Professor
Political Science CV

Overview


Melanie Manion is Vor Broker Family Professor of Political Science at Duke University. She studied philosophy and political economy at Peking University in the late 1970s, was trained in Far Eastern studies at McGill University and the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, and earned her doctorate in political science at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on contemporary authoritarianism, with empirical work on bureaucracy, corruption, information, and representation in China. She is the recipient of numerous research awards, including awards from the National Science Foundation, Fulbright Foundation, Social Science Research Council, and American Council of Learned Societies. Her newest research investigates the political selection of “winners” in China’s ongoing anticorruption campaign. Recent research, in collaboration with Charles Chang, analyzes social media self-censorship in China. Her most recent book, Information for Autocrats (Cambridge University Press, 2015), examines representation in Chinese local congresses. Previous publications include Retirement of Revolutionaries in China (Princeton University Press, 1993), Corruption by Design (Harvard University Press, 2004), and Contemporary Chinese Politics: New Sources, Methods, and Field Strategies (edited with Allen Carlson, Mary Gallagher, and Kenneth Lieberthal, Cambridge University Press, 2010). Her articles have appeared in journals including American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, and China Quarterly. She is an award-winning teacher.

Office Hours


Office: 140 Science Drive, 201 Gross Hall, Box 90204, Durham, NC 27708

Campus box: 90204

Phone: 919.660.5951

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Vor Broker Family Distinguished Professor · 2016 - Present Political Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor in the Department of Political Science · 2015 - Present Political Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Director of Graduate Studies-PhD of Political Science · 2024 - Present Political Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

In the News


Published May 5, 2016
Duke Awards Distinguished Professorships, Inducts New Bass Society Members

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Recent Publications


The Decline of Factions: The Impact of a Broad Purge on Political Decision Making in China

Journal Article British Journal of Political Science · July 22, 2023 We conceptualize broad purges, which extend far below top powerholders in authoritarian regimes and operate according to a logic fundamentally different from coup-proofing purges that target rivals to the supreme leader. Broad purges induce risk reduction ... Full text Cite

Dual Mandates in Chinese Congresses: Information and Cooptation

Journal Article Issues and Studies · March 1, 2022 Survey data suggest that a high proportion of Chinese congress delegates sit concurrently in two or more congresses. While dual mandates are not unusual in democracies, the literature has failed to notice their existence in China, let alone theorize or ana ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


Getting China Right Conference

ConferencePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Henry Luce Foundation, Inc. · 2019 - 2025

Institutionalized Rent Seeking: The Political-Business Revolving Door in Non-Democracies

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by American Political Science Association · 2020 - 2021

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of Michigan, Ann Arbor · 1989 Ph.D.