Dr Hsinyen Lai
Associate Lecturer
Biography
Hsinyen Lai (賴炘延) was born and raised in Taiwan. He holds BA in Arabic from National Cheng-Chi University (2007), MA in Political Science, with major in International Relations, from National Chung-Cheng University (2010) in Taiwan, MRes (2013) and PhD (2018) in Politics from the University of Edinburgh. In January 2019, he joined the School of International Relations and has been teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He was Managing Editor for the Journal of Mediterranean Politics (2019-2024) and is member of the Foreign Policy Analysis Research Network within the Centre for Security Research (CeSeR) based at the University of Edinburgh.
Teaching
Hsinyen is currently the Second-Year Coordinator. If you have any questions regarding IR2005 and IR2006, please get in touch with him at irsecondyear@st-andrews.ac.uk
He teaches other undergraduate modules:
- IR2005 Theoretical Approaches to International Relations (on 'Purposes of IR Theory')
- IR2006 Studying International Relations (on 'Data, Evidence and Method in IR)
- IR3304 The International, Modernity, and Contemporary Gulf Politics
- IR4601 Political Order and Violence in the Middle East
- IR4604 Political Islam and International Relations
He also teaches on the MLitt programme of Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asian Security Studies (MECCASS)
- IR5534 Contemporary Gulf Politics in a Changing Global Context
Research areas
Hsinyen’s research interests mainly lie in international historical sociology and its engagement with nationalism, late-developing state formation, foreign policy, and Cold War history in the Middle East and East Asia. He is currently working on a book manuscript (funded by the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan) that, through Antonio Gramsci's insights, re-conceptualises the social origins and evolution of Arab nationalism in the Gulf and revisits the role of Arab nationalism in Bahrain's alignment in the 1970s. While developing a new research project on the Chiang Kai-Shek regime's authoritarian alignment during 'the Arab Cold War', he is currently coordinating with Dr Harry Yi-Jui Wu, National Cheng-Kung University (Taiwan) on a 2-year project funded by the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation, exploring medical humanitarianism and health diplomacy between Taiwan and Saudi Arabia during the Cold War. With the two ongoing projects, his research interests now include Taiwan's engagement with 'the international' during and after the Cold War,
He welcomes PhD projects related to his research interests, particularly those using historical sociology, with a regional focus on the Middle East (especially the Gulf) or East Asia (mainly Taiwan) in historical and/or contemporary contexts.
PhD supervision
- Kuebra Dilekoglu
- Mohamad Alashmar
- Haya Al-Nuaimi
- Rayyan Kattan
- Francis Lyon
Selected publications
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Open access
Combination beyond ideational diffusion: origins and vectors of Bahrain’s Arab nationalism through uneven and combined development
Lai, H., 1 Nov 2023, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Cambridge Review of International Affairs. Latest Articles, 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
製造海灣政權韌性與租佃國家反革命的歷史
Lai, H., 10 Jul 2022, In: 歐亞研究 (Eurasian Studies Quarterly). 20, p. 83-90 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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The ‘Juffair dilemma’: Arab nationalism, alignment and ‘national-popular collective will’ in Bahrain
Lai, H., 16 Jul 2020, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Third World Quarterly. 41, 11, p. 1828-1842Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review