Research
My research appears in Political Science Research and Methods, Social Science Quarterly, and Journal of East Asian Studies, with several projects under review. I focus on populism, political behavior, and text analysis, using LLM.
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Publications * Corresponding Author
Peer-Reviewed Publications
2025.* "The Non-Linearity Between Populist Attitudes and Ideological Extremism" in Political Science Research and Methods, 2025:1-20. (with Eduardo Ryô Tamaki)
The relationship between populist attitudes and ideological orientations remains an area of considerable academic interest, yet much is still unknown about the ideological inclinations associated with populist attitudes. While many scholars acknowledge the link between populist attitudes and political ideology, existing studies often treat this relationship as either a given or a peripheral concern. This paper represents an initial exploration into the association between populist attitudes and political ideology. Utilizing data from the fifth wave (2016–2021) of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems, which encompasses 43 countries and 52 elections, this study aims to uncover how this relationship manifests cross-nationally. By employing a variety of rigorous methodological models, including the Generalized Additive Model, our results reveal a nonlinear relationship between populist attitudes and political ideology. Specifically, we find that political ideology and populist attitudes exhibit a U-shaped nonlinear relationship and that ideological extremism and populist attitudes demonstrate an exponential nonlinear relationship. These findings emphasize the nuanced interplay between ideological positions and populist attitudes, providing a deeper understanding of how they intersect.
2025. "Navigating Populism in America: Unveiling the Socio-Economic and Ideological Roots of Populist Attitudes" in Social Science Quarterly 106 (2).
This study investigates the socioeconomic and ideological factors that are associated with populist attitudes in the United States. Specifically, it examines the influence of demographic factors such as age and religious affiliation, alongside economic perceptions, while also exploring the ideological alignment of populist attitudes with conservative and progressive issue stances. The analysis utilizes original survey data collected from a nationally representative sample of U.S. respondents. Employing a combination of ordinary least squares regression and factor analysis, the study evaluates the interrelationships between key socioeconomic indicators, ideological orientations, and populist sentiments. The analysis reveals that populist attitudes are strongly associated with conservative issues such as opposition to immigration, support for gun rights, and abortion restrictions. Among socioeconomic predictors, Christian affiliation emerges as one of the significant socioeconomic predictors of populist attitudes. In contrast, populist attitudes show no substantial association with progressive issues like healthcare expansion, environmental policies, or the United States involvement in Ukraine. The findings suggest that populism at the mass level in the United States is predominantly aligned with right-wing issues, rather than left-wing ones. This alignment indicates that populist attitudes in the United States reinforce ideological divides, particularly around conservative policy positions.
2025. "The Sectarian Divide: The Dynamics of Populism in South Korea" in Journal of East Asian Studies, 2025: 1-24.
This study examines the evolution of populism in South Korea by analyzing the rhetoric of its two mainstream political parties, the People Power Party (PPP) and the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), from 2012 to 2022. Utilizing a longitudinal content analysis of party statements and employing advanced large language models (LLMs) for classification, the findings reveal three key trends. First, populist rhetoric has increased over time across both parties. Second, its usage intensifies during election periods and when parties are in opposition. Third, among different forms of populism, sectarian populism, marked by moral polarization and hostility toward political opponents, emerges as the most prominent. These findings contribute to the broader understanding of populism’s role in third-wave democracies, illustrating its implications for democratic stability and the entrenchment of political sectarianism.
2024. "Cyber Shadows over Nuclear Peace: Understanding and Mitigating Digital Threats to Global Security." in Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, 11(2), 233-533.
This article examines the intersection of cyber warfare and nuclear security, emphasising the significance of addressing the emerging threats to nuclear facilities from cyberattacks. The article highlights a gap in the international security architecture: the absence of an international regime for nuclear cybersecurity. This deficiency challenges the Non-Proliferation Treaty regime, threatening global peace and stability by undermining the treaty’s objectives and increasing the risk of nuclear proliferation and misuse. The research underscores the need for an international regime that integrates cybersecurity with nuclear security. It calls for the involvement of middle powers in international negotiations and consensus-building, alongside exploring innovative diplomatic strategies and robust legal frameworks. The article seeks to contribute to the discourse on international security, advocating for a coordinated global response to safeguard against the catastrophic consequences of digital threats in the nuclear domain.
2024. "Lighthouse in the Mist: State Governors’ Crisis Communication on Twitter during the Early Stage of the Covid-19 Pandemic." International Journal of Public Administration in the Digital Age, 11(1), 1-34. (with Hanjin Mao & Meril Antony)
2025. “Candidates, Media Effects, and Gender,” The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Politics and Gender, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Under Review
Revise & Resubmit (R&R)
"Populism, Ideology, and the Endorsement of Martial Law: A Conditional Relationship"* (with Brandon Beomseob Park)
"Does Immigration Fuel Populism? The Effect of Immigration on the Rise of Populist Rhetoric"* (with Jeongho Choi)
Invited Publications
"Democracy for True Americans: Variations in Citizenship Norms and Democratic Norm Support”* (with Seongjoon Ahn)
Accepted for inclusion in the Political Psychology (Special Issue).
Under Review
"Reassessing the Cultural Foundation of Democracy after the Third-wave Democratization”* (with Youngho Cho & Hannah June Kim)
Work in Progress
Large Language Model and Populism with Eduardo Ryô Tamaki, Julia Chatterley, Semir Dzebo, Grant Mitchell, Cristóbal Sandoval, Levente Littvay, and Kirk A. Hawkins. (📢 invited to present at APSA 2025 & PaCSS 2025)
This study examines how large language models (LLMs) can be effectively utilized to detect populist rhetoric.
Understanding Public Polarization in Response to Illiberal Decisions: A Large Language Model Approach with Sung Hoon Kang
This project examines the levels of polarization among Korean citizens before and after political events.
Exploring the Most Important Problem Through AI-Driven Analysis with Murat Yildirim & Brandon Beomseob Park & Dean Schafer
This project leverages large language models to enrich the exploration of citizens’ responses to Most Important Problem (MIP) survey questions.
Populism and Support for Democracy: Divergent Beliefs of Populist Supporters with Jeongho Choi
This study explores the influence of authoritarian attitudes on the support for populism, considering the relationship with satisfaction with democracy.
AI-Based Multidimensional Analysis of Inheritance and Gift Tax Policy Acceptance with Sung Hoon Kang
This study utilizes large language models to analyze policy acceptance by leveraging open-ended questions in the original dataset.
What Happens When Asian American Candidates Use Race Appeals? with Taewoo Kang (📢 presented at IPSA 2025)
Using survey experiments, this research examines the political behaviors of Asian-American individuals.
Using Mixed Subjects Design to Replicate Underpowered Political Science Studies with Dowon Kim
This study employs the Mixed Subjects Design to strengthen inference in underpowered political science studies.
Measuring Extreme Right Wing with Brandon Beomseob Park
This study explores the dynamics of extreme right-wing ideology, focusing on South Korea.
Democratic Norm Violation in New Democracies: Political Punitivism with Youngho Cho
Focusing on South Korea, this research investigates the impact of norm violations on the quality of democracy.
- Are Military Leaders More Populist? with William Christiansen
- This paper analyzes military background scores from the LEAD dataset using Bayesian Mixed Factor Analysis.
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