Stephen Hess, Ph.D.

 

 

Office: Carlson Hall Room 221

Email: shess@bridgeport.edu

 

 

Stephen Hess is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and East Asian Studies. Over the past year, Dr. Hess has continued with an active research agenda centered on investigating the role of popular protest movements in nondemocratic countries. He has recently completed a book-length manuscript on the sources of resilience and breakdown in authoritarian regimes, including China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Kazakhstan. In a forthcoming article in the journal, International Political Science Review, Hess has considered lessons learned in the recent Arab Spring uprisings to evaluate the prospects for destabilizing anti-government protests in China. Additionally, he will present a working paper on popular reactions to growing Chinese engagement in the sub-Saharan countries of Zambia and Ghana at the Northeast Political Science Association's annual conference in Boston. Extending his work overseas, Hess spent five weeks this summer traveling and conducting field research in China, Laos and Thailand. A returned Peace Corps volunteer who served in China from 2006 to 2008, he has been active in bringing recruiters from the Peace Corps and the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program in order to educate students about opportunities to live and work overseas.