Each summer, Stanford students assist APARC faculty on a variety of projects as research assistants (RAs). In the case of Jerome He ‘24, working with Center Fellow Oriana Skylar Mastro provided an occasion to learn about the nuanced details of China’s foreign policy, as well as cultivate an interest in related topics such as deterrence, cybersecurity, and soft power competition.

He, a Political Science major who intends to pursue a legal career, describes the opportunity to work closely with Stanford faculty as priceless. His collaboration with Dr. Mastro on her research enhanced his own research abilities, especially when interrogating numerous source texts and streamlining arguments into concise memos.

In the following Q&A, He discusses his research assistant experience this summer. The interview was slightly edited for length and clarity.

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Tell us a bit about yourself and your academic interests and extracurriculars.  

I am an international student from China, embarking on my third year at Stanford. I love studying political theories and I am a huge soccer fan and a fervent reader of German philosophy. I pay close attention to China’s domestic governance and international politics. 

Why did you choose to work with Dr. Mastro? 

In the past winter quarter, I talked to Vivian Zhu 23’ about her work with Dr. Mastro. From Vivian, I caught a glimpse of her work experience — challenging, engaging, and knowledge-intensive. I loved the fact that much of the work is task-oriented and is categorized by various topics. On top of that, I had immense respect for Dr. Mastro when I took PoliSci 114S last winter. Working with Dr. Mastro seemed a perfect opportunity to enrich my research experience.  

Can you describe the research you are working on? 

Dr. Mastro is writing a book on China’s foreign policy. The general idea is to explain how and why China competed differently from the United States in the international arena. RAs who understand Chinese are mainly responsible for going through Chinese sources and extracting valuable information related to a set of different topics. Sometimes we compile memos on a specific topic (such as China’s aircraft carrier development) and carry out literature reviews. 

How would you describe this research to someone unfamiliar with international security and geopolitics? 

I think the starting point is to realize that countries do not “intuitively” make decisions on how to compete and how to establish security. Foreign policies are shaped by both voluntary decisions driven by sophisticated calculations and arbitrary factors that are beyond anyone’s control. Over the course of time, we witness an array of different competing strategies that define the current international landscape. Chinese citizens could find the idea of military alliances and delivering large troops to foreign lands absurd while American people might feel weird to see China using infrastructure and militias for its military struggle in the South China Sea. Part of our research is to explain the differences, summarize the patterns, and hopefully, shed light on the future development of great power competition in all domains. 

What did you learn over the course of your research assistantship and how do you think it will help you in your career? 

Working on Dr. Mastro’s team enhances my ability to collect sources, extract information from an enormous number of texts, and streamline my arguments in a concise memo. I was also able to capture an understanding of how top scholars manage to complete complicated academic projects. Working on China’s foreign policy and military strategies opens up a world of fascinating topics like deterrence, cybersecurity, and soft power competition that paints a clearer picture of future courses I will take and future plans I can make.  

What's next for you? 

I will continue to work with Dr. Mastro in the coming fall and plan to contribute more to her team. I am interested in a legal career, so I aim to shift to some more law-related work after my experience in political science.  

Any advice for Stanford students considering a summer RA position? 

An opportunity to work with Stanford professors is priceless. With respect to finding the most suitable RA position, it always helps to talk to students who previously worked on the team or professors who are familiar with their colleagues. These conversations can give you a vivid understanding beyond the job description and lead to better CVs.   

Learn more about APARC’s summer research assistant internships and other training opportunities for Stanford undergraduate and graduate students >

The following article is a guest post written by Thea Louise Dai, an alumna of the Spring 2022 China Scholars Program. In April 2022, Thea met Wendy Wen, an alumna of the Spring 2022 Stanford e-China Program. Currently, Thea Louise is a junior at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California, and Wendy Wen is a junior at Beijing National Day School in Beijing, China.

In April 2022, I met Wendy Wen through a collaboration between the China Scholars Program (CSP) and Stanford e-China. Five months later, we are working together to prepare the first synchronous Zoom discussion at Project 17—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization we founded dedicated to initiating global dialogue through synchronous discussions about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

The CSP and Stanford e-China collaboration was no doubt my most stimulating academic experience to date. The two programs held four joint discussions on various climate issues over the course of several weeks. With the rare opportunity to bridge geographical and cultural divides, I finally had a chance to apply everything I had learned about China’s history, policies, and current events throughout the program in conversation with actual Chinese students, from whom I learned new perspectives. Although we only had to participate in one of the synchronous discussions, I found myself looking forward to each meeting and rearranging my schedule to attend all four.

Wendy recalls that she had a similarly eye-opening experience during the meetings. She noted, “I have always believed that the world’s largest challenges can be solved through global collaboration. After every discussion with the CSP, I left feeling inspired to know that such collaboration is possible, even for high school students.”

After meeting each other through a breakout room conversation, we immediately connected on the need for a global discussion platform targeted towards youth perspectives. Essentially, we hoped to capture the value of our experience with SPICE, and we wanted to make it even more accessible and on a larger scale. We also wanted to clear a pathway for participants to take the next steps to create tangible change on the SDGs after our discussions.

As a result, we conceptualized Project 17 in part to partner with the chapter system of the United Nation Association of the USA (UNA-USA) so that high school and college students have the unique opportunity to connect with UNA-USA officials and members across the United States. Our vision is for all participants to be able to share their perspectives on the SDGs to inform the UNA-USA chapter system. We’re also working with Stanford e-China Instructor Carey Moncaster and CSP Instructor Tanya Lee of SPICE to publish the SDG-related research and reflections of participants on larger platforms.

Project 17 hosts four annual synchronous Zoom discussions, each focused on a particular group of SDGs: Planet, People, Prosperity, and Peace & Partnership. Our first discussion about the planet will take place in November 2022 and run for two hours. Interested students can complete the registration form on the Project 17 website to apply for an opportunity to hear from SDG advocates, learn from NGO leaders, and participate in breakout room discussions with youth leaders around the world. High school and college students based in any country are eligible to participate.

Project 17 discussion structure; photo courtesy Thea Louise Dai

In the span of four months, Project 17’s outreach efforts have reached 51 cities, 47 schools, and five different countries. Participants will build connections with students from different backgrounds and develop a global mindset by engaging with new perspectives. In addition, participants can contribute to asynchronous discussion boards and the Project 17 blog, receive bimonthly newsletters about the SDGs, and receive certified service hours eligible for the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

By incorporating these opportunities into our organization, we hope to create an experience similar to the invaluable experiences that Wendy and I had through the CSP and Stanford e-China. Inspired by SPICE’s impact, we are incredibly excited to start an initiative similarly promoting international and cross-cultural collaboration. Please note that Project 17 is not a Stanford SPICE program.

For more information, visit Project 17’s website (projectseventeen.org) or contact Project 17 at contact@projectseventeen.org.

Scott Rozelle, co-director of SCCEI, added: "Jennifer is at the forefront of research in her field, conducting groundbreaking empirical research that uses the unique lens of communication to build understanding of China’s economy and its impact on the world. In the past year alone, Jennifer gave several lectures to our SCCEI community, all of which drew large audiences and sparked lively discussion. We are thrilled to have her officially join our team and I can’t wait to see where her research takes her next."

Pan’s book, “Welfare for Autocrats: How Social Assistance in China Cares for its Rulers,” shows how China’s pursuit of political order transformed the country’s main social assistance program, Dibao, for repressive purposes. Her work has appeared in peer-reviewed publications such as the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Politics, and Science.

“Jennifer Pan is one of the most exciting, creative and innovative scholars in the field of social media and network analysis,” said Nathaniel Persily, co-director of the Cyber Policy Center. “She has written foundational works relating to the internet in China and has very important research underway concerning the effect of social media on politics in the United States.”

Pan graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 2004 and obtained a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2015. Prior to Stanford, Pan was a consultant at McKinsey & Company. She was also a fellow at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences from 2019 to 2020.