Hans Hanpu Tung

Hans Hanpu Tung is a University Excelsior Chair Professor of Political Science at National Taiwan University (NTU), serving as Associate Dean for Research & Development in the College of Social Sciences and Interim Associate Dean at the School of Political Science and Economics. He holds a joint appointment as a Professor at the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science, National Tsing Hua University. Additionally, he is a Non-Resident Research Fellow at Keio University’s V-Dem Regional Center for East Asia and serves on the Executive Committee of Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council Research Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Tung’s research focuses on formal and empirical analyses of political-economic dynamics under authoritarian regimes, including institutional development, political decision-making, and China’s global influence. Notably, his article Power Sharing and Media Freedom in Dictatorships won the 2022 Kaid-Sanders Best Political Communication Article Award. In 2025, he ranked 7th in Asia and top 3% globally in research impact.

Key affiliations include editorial roles at Humanities & Social Sciences Communications and the Cambridge University Press Taiwan Studies series. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard University. His work spans Political Communication, Review of International Organizations, Nature Communications, and others, addressing authoritarian governance, pandemic policies, and China’s rise.

Recent grants and projects include the Pandemic Backsliding: Democracy during COVID-19 dataset and collaborations on China’s elite politics. He advises on public health and governance, with a focus on Taiwan’s response to global challenges.