Presented By: Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies
LRCCS Noon Lecture Series | Authoritarian Absorption: The Transnational Remaking of Epidemic Politics in China
Yan Long, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley

Attend in person or via Zoom: https://myumi.ch/E8D82
Dr. Long’s book traces how foreign organizations shaped China’s public health bureaucracy between 1978 and 2018. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, it demonstrates how the Chinese state absorbed foreign liberal norms to both strengthen health institutions and reinforce authoritarian control—dynamics that were crucial in affecting China’s COVID-19 response and the rights of marginalized groups like urban gay men.
Yan Long is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a political and organizational sociologist whose research explores the interplay between globalization and authoritarian politics, with a focus on public health, civic action, and urban development. Her work has been published in leading journals such as the American Journal of Sociology, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and Social Science & Medicine, earning her over ten national awards. She is currently investigating how digital technology shapes urban governance during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Long’s book traces how foreign organizations shaped China’s public health bureaucracy between 1978 and 2018. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, it demonstrates how the Chinese state absorbed foreign liberal norms to both strengthen health institutions and reinforce authoritarian control—dynamics that were crucial in affecting China’s COVID-19 response and the rights of marginalized groups like urban gay men.
Yan Long is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a political and organizational sociologist whose research explores the interplay between globalization and authoritarian politics, with a focus on public health, civic action, and urban development. Her work has been published in leading journals such as the American Journal of Sociology, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and Social Science & Medicine, earning her over ten national awards. She is currently investigating how digital technology shapes urban governance during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.