Political Science Faculty

Jingyuan “Juan” Qian studies comparative political institutions, power-sharing, and bureaucracy in both historical and contemporary contexts, with a regional focus on China and East Asia. His ongoing book project, titled Statebuilding by Campaign: The Making of Modern Chinese Bureaucracy (1949-76), studies the various mechanisms employed by the Chinese party-state under Chairman Mao Zedong to manage and control subordinate bureaucrats during the first three decades of the People’s Republic of China.  

Qian’s research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes, including Comparative Politics, The China Quarterly, Ethnopolitics, and The Routledge Handbook of Anti-Corruption Research and Practice.  His interviews and commentaries have also been featured in major English- and Chinese-language media outlets, including Bloomberg TV, The Atlantic, South China Morning Post, Made in China Journal, and The Initium Media. 

At Boston College, Qian teaches courses in Chinese politics, comparative politics, statebuilding in East Asia, and political game theory. Qian holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University, and a Bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Macalester College.

Prior to joining Boston College, Qian was an Earl S. Johnson Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Chicago (2023-25) and an Associate in Research at the Margolis Institute at Duke University (2016-18). Before entering academia, he worked as a project consultant at Navigant Consulting and as a government affairs assistant at the E.U. Chamber of Commerce in China. He also served as a legislative intern with Minnesota State Senator Foung Hawj and as a communications intern with Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton.