Lynette Ong

Lynette Ong is a Distinguished Professor of Chinese Politics at the University of Toronto, where she holds joint appointments at the Munk School of Global Affairs and the Department of Political Science. She directs the China Governance Lab, a hub for interdisciplinary research on authoritarianism, political economy, and contentious politics in China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia.

• Director, China Governance Lab
• Nonresident Senior Fellow, Asia Society’s Center for China Analysis
• Nonresident Senior Fellow, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

Her research focuses on authoritarian governance mechanisms, particularly how states coerce compliance while minimizing resistance through outsourcing repression to nonstate actors like brokers and thugs. She analyzes these dynamics through ethnographic studies of land grabs and housing demolitions in China, contributing to theories of state-society relations and authoritarian resilience.

Ong’s scholarly contributions include multiple awards such as the SSHRC Insight Award, APSA Human Rights Best Book Award, and the CPSA Prize in Comparative Politics. Her work has been featured in leading journals (Perspectives on Politics, China Quarterly) and media outlets (The Economist, New York Times, Foreign Affairs).

At the China Governance Lab, she mentors postdoctoral researchers, graduate fellows, and students, fostering innovative projects on contemporary China. She has testified before the US Congress and Canadian House of Commons, and her expert commentary regularly informs global policy and media discourse.