Pengfei Xu

I am a PhD candidate in Politics at the University of Manchester. Before coming to Manchester, I obtained an MSc in International Relations from the University of Manchester.
My research interests span across Chinese politics, the Chinese Communist Party, governance mechanisms and power interactions between governing authorities and citizens in Chinese society. My PhD thesis provides a critical analysis of China’s Social Credit System within the framework of Foucault’s governmentlity, examining how state-directed initiatives seek to regulate conduct, normalize behaviors, and shape citizen subjectivities in contemporary Chinese society.