WELCOME!

I am a Lecturer in Quantitative Political and Social Research at Birkbeck, University of London. I am also the Director of Birkbeck’s Postgraduate Social Research Programmes and a Research Associate of the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research.

My research explores how institutional frameworks and public policies shape democratic and authoritarian governance within multi-ethnic states. To address these issues, I apply a mixed-methods approach combining qualitative analysis with quantitative and computational techniques, including innovative applications of generative AI.

Before coming to Birkbeck, I held fellowship positions at Tsinghua University (Beijing) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Between 2026 and 2028, I will be a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Methodology at LSE.

Email: c.cheng[at]bbk.ac.uk / c.cheng23[at]lse.ac.uk.