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William Hurst

@wjhurst.bsky.social
2.3K followers 1.6K following 795 posts

Chong Hua Professor of Chinese Development University of Cambridge, Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies Co-Director, Centre for Geopolitics Senior Associate Fellow, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) @rusi.bsky.social

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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 9h
www.cvc.cam.ac.uk/events/tradi...
cvc.cam.ac.uk
Trading Beauty: From Europe to China, from Canton to the World — Qing Dynasty Canton Enamels - CVC
A Cambridge Visual Culture event Monday 19 October 2026, 3.30pm Pembroke College Auditorium, Cambridge Trading Beauty: From Europe to China, from Canton to the World — Qing Dynasty Canton Enamels Dr J...
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Reposted by William Hurst
garjives.bsky.social @garjives.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
This could be interesting 🧐
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Reposted by William Hurst
Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
New post by @wjhurst.bsky.social, in which he further develops previous work (written with Christian Sorace in 2016) to dig into the term "ghost cities" and consider their various permutations in the Chinese context.
cfg.cam.ac.uk
Four Kinds of Empty: Rethinking China’s Ghost Cities and their Implications - Centre for Geopolitics
Analysis Wednesday 23rd September, 2026
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Reposted by William Hurst
Reuters @reuters.com · 28/09/2026
Taiwan pushes back after Xi seeks to win over Trump on World War Two narrative reut.rs/4ynf4f8
reut.rs
Taiwan pushes back after Xi seeks to win over Trump on World War Two narrative
Taiwan is pushing back against what it sees as Beijing's efforts to ​rewrite the history of World War Two after Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump highlighted the ‌wartime alliance between their countries at a summit last week.
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Reposted by William Hurst
Reuters @reuters.com · 28/09/2026
Wife of Malaysia's longest-serving PM Mahathir dies at 100 reut.rs/4y8sbQB
reut.rs
Wife of Malaysia's longest-serving PM Mahathir dies at 100
Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, the wife of Malaysia's longest-serving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, died on Monday, the veteran leader's office ​said.
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Differentiated Desolation in #China's ghost cities: www.cfg.cam.ac.uk/news/four-ki...
cfg.cam.ac.uk
Four Kinds of Empty: Rethinking China’s Ghost Cities and their Implications - Centre for Geopolitics
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Reposted by William Hurst
William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Coming before too long: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
global.oup.com
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Reposted by William Hurst
Michael Pettis @michaelpettis.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Cambridge's William Hurst argues that not all empty urban projects in China are the same, and that the differences among them imply a different distribution of political and economic costs.
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
www.insidehighered.com/views/2016/0...
insidehighered.com
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
news.northwestern.edu/stories/2016...
news.northwestern.edu
End the Extracurricular Arms Race
Students are so busy that they're being robbed of their education
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
www.cfg.cam.ac.uk/news/four-ki...
cfg.cam.ac.uk
Four Kinds of Empty: Rethinking China’s Ghost Cities and their Implications - Centre for Geopolitics
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
www.cfg.cam.ac.uk/news/four-ki...
cfg.cam.ac.uk
Four Kinds of Empty: Rethinking China’s Ghost Cities and their Implications - Centre for Geopolitics
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Internal economic weakness, debt, & inefficient investment limit #China’s foreign policy leverage, but not always in the same ways. But even “ghost cities” are not all the same: brownfield boondoggles are different from formalist facades: www.cfg.cam.ac.uk/news/four-ki... #trump #summit
cfg.cam.ac.uk
Four Kinds of Empty: Rethinking China’s Ghost Cities and their Implications - Centre for Geopolitics
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Four kinds of empty: thinking about different categories of ghost cities in #China: www.cfg.cam.ac.uk/news/four-ki...
cfg.cam.ac.uk
Four Kinds of Empty: Rethinking China’s Ghost Cities and their Implications - Centre for Geopolitics
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Time to think again about ghost cities in China: www.cfg.cam.ac.uk/news/four-ki...
cfg.cam.ac.uk
Four Kinds of Empty: Rethinking China’s Ghost Cities and their Implications - Centre for Geopolitics
Analysis Wednesday 23rd September, 2026
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
www.cfg.cam.ac.uk/news/four-ki...
cfg.cam.ac.uk
Four Kinds of Empty: Rethinking China’s Ghost Cities and their Implications - Centre for Geopolitics
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Some new thoughts about ghost cities in China: www.cfg.cam.ac.uk/news/four-ki...
cfg.cam.ac.uk
Four Kinds of Empty: Rethinking China’s Ghost Cities and their Implications - Centre for Geopolitics
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Coming before too long: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
global.oup.com
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Reposted by William Hurst
The Diplomat @thediplomat.com · 17/09/2026
AUKUS Pillar II’s progress has proven difficult to judge – not due to a lack of activity, but because there’s no agreed metric for what success should look like. buff.ly/Ni8uWun
buff.ly
What Has AUKUS Pillar II Achieved Over 5 Years?
Pillar II’s progress has proven difficult to judge – not due to a lack of activity, but because there’s no agreed metric for what success should look like.
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
2014 article on how social control is contracted out to social groups (including old people’s associations and crime syndicates) in rural China: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Reassessing Collective Petitioning in Rural China: Civic Engagement, Extra-State Violence, and Regional Variation
Based on our analysis of a survey of over 100 villages across six provinces, in which we collected both quantitative data and in-depth interview responses, we a
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
First article (2014) to explain local Chinese governments’ reliance on gangsters and/or old people’s associations to keep the peace and make social control possible: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Reassessing Collective Petitioning in Rural China: Civic Engagement, Extra-State Violence, and Regional Variation
Based on our analysis of a survey of over 100 villages across six provinces, in which we collected both quantitative data and in-depth interview responses, we a
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Reassessing Collective Petitioning in Rural China: Civic Engagement, Extra-State Violence, and Regional Variation
Based on our analysis of a survey of over 100 villages across six provinces, in which we collected both quantitative data and in-depth interview responses, we a
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Two patterns of #governance in rural #China: A) relying on civic mediators like old people's associations; B) relying on coercive enforcers like gangsters and crime syndicates; Pattern A in Fujian, Pattern B in many other places. Massive survey & 100+ qual interviews 1/2
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
12 years ago: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Reassessing Collective Petitioning in Rural China: Civic Engagement, Extra-State Violence, and Regional Variation
Based on our analysis of a survey of over 100 villages across six provinces, in which we collected both quantitative data and in-depth interview responses, we a
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
2014 article on governance in rural #China: researchgate.net/profile/Willia…
researchgate.net
25+ million researchers on ResearchGate
Browse through the biggest community of researchers available online on ResearchGate, the professional network for scientists
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This is important: edition.cnn.com/2026/09/08/u...
edition.cnn.com
NYC Mayor Mamdani releases 9/11 records showing officials misled New Yorkers about air quality around Ground Zero | CNN
New York City has released more than 170,000 pages of previously undisclosed records about air quality following the September 11, 2001, attacks, showing city officials at the time knew conditions aro...
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Clever meme:
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
madeinchinajournal.com/2017/09/24/t...
madeinchinajournal.com
Treating What Ails the Study of Chinese Politics | Made in China Journal
For almost as long as political science has existed as a discipline, the study of Chinese politics has been afflicted with a chronic disease. Depending on one’s perspective, this malady’s manifestatio...
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Reposted by William Hurst
The Diplomat @thediplomat.com · 21/08/2026
Instead of losing their hold over the country, Cambodia’s ruling families have turned the scam crackdown to their advantage. thediplomat.com/2026/08/camb...
thediplomat.com
Cambodia: From Scam Empire to Security State
War with Thailand pushed Cambodia to enact a sweeping scam crackdown. Now the ruling elite is leveraging the same crackdown to consolidate its political control.
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
x.com/wjhurst/stat... If you liked the last thread about the decline of fieldwork in the China field, check out this one about the Southeast Asia field!
x.com
William Hurst (@wjhurst) on X
As my earlier🛢️on fieldwork in China garnered so many reactions, here are some thoughts on why fieldwork is in decline specifically in the Southeast Asia field: 1/11 #SoutheastAsia #Politics #Pol...
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
youtu.be/t6VZZ-nHef0?...
youtu.be
IPR26 Keynote - Maelstrom without a Map: Multi-Polarity, De-globalisation, and Disruptive Technology
YouTube video by Centre for Geopolitics
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
x.com/wjhurst/stat...
x.com
William Hurst (@wjhurst) on X
It’s worth reflecting upon *why* fieldwork is in precipitous decline, resulting in a serious erosion of comparative politics as a field. There are at least several reasons, detailed below specifically...
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Definitely worth listening to (even if you’ve never spent time at UT or in Austin): kutkutx.studio/texas-standa...
kutkutx.studio
Revisiting 'Out of the Blue,' 60 years after the UT Tower shooting - KUT & KUTX Studios - Podcasts
Columbine. Sandy Hook. Santa Fe High School. Robb Elementary: Touchstones for a sense of shared tragedy. School shootings have become a part of modern life, but what do we remember of the event that o...
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
On Geopolitics, Explorations on War –Episode 15 youtu.be/moowQBLD7Hg?... via @YouTube
youtu.be
On Geopolitics, Explorations on War –Episode 15
YouTube video by Centre for Geopolitics
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Parochial de-globalisation. What are they so afraid of? There's a long running conversation in Chinese politics about the difficulties of ascertaining accurate information when system insiders are all yes-men and all outsiders are barred or repressed... www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump administration drastically limits length of foreign journalist visas
Visas will be shortened to 240 days, down from five years, and Chinese journalists will be limited to 90 days
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
youtu.be/moowQBLD7Hg?...
youtu.be
On Geopolitics, Explorations on War –Episode 15
YouTube video by Centre for Geopolitics
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
youtu.be/SGxIrQZ4Zyo?...
youtu.be
Explorations on War - Episode 13, with Tang Shiping
YouTube video by Centre for Geopolitics
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Centre for Geopolitics @camgeopolitics.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
The final episode of the 'Explorations on War' podcast is now live! Prof William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social returns to the question he began with –What is war?– and reviews the themes discussed with guests throughout the series. 🎧 Listen to the episode here: bit.ly/4uenjZ6
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Cannot unsee that analogy...
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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 13/06/2026
Pakistan says US-Iran deal to be signed within 24 hours ft.trib.al/w9cpGg9
ft.trib.al
Pakistan says US-Iran deal to be signed within 24 hours
Strait of Hormuz will be reopened as part of ceasefire extension, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
open.spotify.com/episode/0uD3...
open.spotify.com
Seeing Like a State: How Tops-Down Management Styles Create Disaster in Complex Systems | William Hurst
Work For Humans · Episode
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Scatalogical humour always gets attention, even in the form of bad (and potentially dangerous) practical jokes...
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Reposted by William Hurst
William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Available now! youtube.com/playlist?lis...
youtube.com
Indo-Pacific Roundtable 2026 - YouTube
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Available now! youtube.com/playlist?lis...
youtube.com
Indo-Pacific Roundtable 2026 - YouTube
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Reposted by William Hurst
Fons Tuinstra @fonstuinstra.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
China to tighten oversight of private investment funds - Reuters www.msn.com/en-us/money/...
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Full videos of the entire conference available at the bottom of the page: www.cfg.cam.ac.uk/events/indo-...
cfg.cam.ac.uk
Indo-Pacific Roundtable 2026 - Centre for Geopolitics
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
This is actually at least potentially quite important (likely much more consequential than trump's Beijing visit): www.cnn.com/2026/06/04/c...
cnn.com
China’s Xi Jinping to make rare trip to North Korea next week | CNN
Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea next week for a rare visit just weeks after the Chinese leader hosted US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin for separate, nearly back-to-bac...
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William Hurst @wjhurst.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Interesting: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Aukus: US, UK and Australia to develop underwater drone technology
The technology, developed under the Aukus military pact, is aimed at protecting undersea cables and boosting naval defence.
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