Dr. Yan Long

Biography

Yan Long is an Associate Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of California, Berkeley. His research is primarily focused on the intersections of globalization, authoritarian politics, and health in empirical areas such as civic action, gender, and technology. He studies the evolving relations between infectious disease and authoritarian state building, tracing the development of public health systems in China from 1978 to 2018. His work highlights the role of foreign interventions in shaping Chinese public health technocrats and examines social health insurance reform in the Global South. Long’s research also addresses how local cultural discourses and community relationships concerning gender and class mediate the impact of institutional reform on individual health-seeking behaviors. In addition, he conducts international comparative research on transnational social movements in global cities, identifying trends in civic action amid rising rationalization and managerialism. His ongoing work investigates the effects of globalization and state repression on social movements, particularly among Chinese gay organizations. Furthermore, his current research explores urban neighborhood politics related to COVID-19 in China, focusing on the enactment of digital surveillance tools and the bureaucratic challenges they present in the context of urban inequalities and authoritarian governance.

Research Interests

Experience