HighlightsRecognized by multiple American Sociological Association awards for innovative scholarship on migration and diaspora; combines legal, sociological, and international perspectives; contributes to understanding state-diaspora dynamics, citizenship, and the global reach of China; actively engages in interdisciplinary and international collaborations.
Focused research areas include Examines the interplay between state power, diaspora politics, and migration in contemporary and historical China; explores citizenship, emigrant legal status, and the social origins of global China; investigates digital governance and the internationalisation of migrant hometowns.
- Chateaubriand Fellowship, French Embassy in USA (€20,000) (2020)
- University of Arizona School of Sociology Scott R. Eliason Award ($500) (2020)
- Stanford University East Asia Library Travel Grant ($750) (2019)
- Eiffel Scholarship, Foreign Ministry of France (€30,000) (2015-17)
- Lee Kong Chian Fellowship ($22,000) (2023)
Showing up to 6 latest publications from the past 5 years.
- JM Liu, CX WanComparative Migration Studies 13 (1), 49, 2025
- JM LiuOPE Handbook of Chinese Migration to Europe, 274, 2025
- JM LiuInternational Migration Review 58 (2), 1035-1037, 2024
- JM Liu, RJ PengInternational Migration Review 58 (2), 545-572, 2024
- JM LiuInternational Migration Review 56 (4), 1255-1279, 2022
- From “sea turtles” to “grassroots ambassadors”: The Chinese politics of outbound student migration [2022]JM LiuInternational Migration Review 56 (3), 702-726, 2022
Jiaqi Liu is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Singapore Management University, where his research explores the intersection of political sociology, international migration, global sociology, and digital technologies. His work examines how transnational connections and technological mediation reshape contemporary politics and social life across borders.
His current book project, The Diasporic State: How Migrants and Local Bureaucrats Reshape Global China, investigates how Chinese migrants navigate escalating geopolitical tensions between their homeland and host countries in the context of China’s global rise. This research contributes to broader theoretical conversations about diaspora politics, state–society relations, and the micropolitics of international relations in an era of great power competition.
Liu’s scholarship has been recognized with seven awards from sections of the American Sociological Association, including Political Sociology, Global & Transnational Sociology, International Migration, Political Economy of the World-System, and Communication, Information, Technologies, and Media Sociology. He holds a PhD from University of California San Diego, JD from University of Arizona, and Master of International Affairs from Sciences Po.
Qualifications
- PhD, University of California San Diego, 2023
- M.A, Sciences Po Paris, 2017
- Juris Doctor, University of Arizona, 2015
Research Interests
- International Migration
- Political Sociology
- Global & Transnational Sociology
- Law and Society
- Digital Sociology
- Comparative-Historical Methods
Course(s) Taught in SMU
- Intro to Sociological Theory