“Economic Precarity and Populism in East Asia” by Prof. Samson Yuen (Hong Kong Baptist University), July 1, 17:00.

Hong Kong Baptist UniversityのSamson Yuen准教授をお迎えし、“Economic Precarity and Populism in East Asia”と題して実証政治学ワークショップを開催します。
どなたでもご参加いただけます。事前登録は不要です。ぜひご参加下さい。
We are very pleased to host Prof. Samson Yuen (Hong Kong Baptist University) for a special talk with the title “Economic Precarity and Populism in East Asia”.  Pre-registration is not required. We look forward to your participation.

日時：2026年7月1日（水）17時〜18時40分
Date and Time: Wednesday, July 1, 2026, 17:00-18:40

場所：3号館908
Venue：Room 908, Building 3, Waseda Campus, Waseda University

言語Language：英語English

要旨Abstract： 
Economic precarity – a condition of unstable or insecure economic life – is one of the most cited drivers of populist politics across developed nations. Yet, its relevance to East Asia – a region widely regarded as resistant to populism thus far – remains underexplored. This seminar explores whether precarity drives populist support in East Asian polities, and through what mechanism. Drawing on original cross-national survey data from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea, we find that precarity does increase populist thinking among respondents who are currently employed. This is not simply because precarious citizens lose faith in institutions or grow more aware of inequality. Instead, the effect is cognitively-driven: insecurity leads them to perceive social life as a competition where others’ gains come at their expense, which in turns extends to how they view politics. Across the four cases, it is this sense of living in a zero-sum world of winners and losers – more than generalized political or economic grievances – that drives populism. The findings raise concern over the downstream effects of economic precarity in East Asia. If labour markets grow more insecure in the age of automation and AI, the region’s presumed immunity to populism may prove difficult to sustain.

Contact：小林哲郎（早稲田大学） Tetsuro Kobayashi (Waseda University)  [email protected]