Stephen Noakes from the School of Science at the University of Auckland talks about his big question, “why is China the way it is politically?”

Noakes is currently engaged in a pair of book projects. The first is a cross-national comparative study of China’s development assistance in the Pacific Islands. The second (co-authored with Dr. Chris Wilson) examines challenges to liberal democracy in the twenty-first century, including the rise and resilience of competitive authoritarian regimes, terrorist/guerrilla insurgencies, and far-right populist movements.

Stephen Noakes is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland. He is an expert in contemporary Chinese politics and is the author of The Advocacy Trap: Transnational Activism and State Power in China.

This is part eight of the Big Q’s “Big Question” video series. For more, click here.


For more of our audio and visual content, check out our YouTube channel, or head to the University of Auckland’s manuscripts and archives collection.

Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in this video reflect the views of the lecturer and not necessarily the views of The Big Q. 

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