為天地立心為生民立命為往聖絉絕學為萬世開太平
PhD Student · Year 2

Jianan Du

杜佳楠

Second-year PhD student in Political Science at Northwestern University, studying how bureaucracy and religion shape state capacity and political order — with a focus on contemporary China.


Bureaucracy & State Capacity

Examining how bureaucratic structures shape governance, policy implementation, and state power in authoritarian regimes.

Religion & Politics

Investigating the intersection of religious institutions and political authority, legitimacy, and social control in China.

Chinese Politics

Comparative and empirical work on political dynamics, institutional change, and party-state relations in the PRC.


2024 – Present
Northwestern University
PhD in Political Science  ·  In Progress
2022 – 2024
Columbia University
MA in Political Science
2018 – 2022
Beijing Foreign Studies University
BA in Translation

Automotive Driving Hiking Piano
悟已往之不谏,知來者之可追 實迷途其未遠,覺今是而昨非
陶淵明 · 歸去來兮辭