Associate Professor Center for the Social Sciences
Dr. Raymond Yu Wang is an associate professor at the Center for Social Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Geography from Beijing Normal University (2007), an MPhil in Natural Resources Management from Renmin University of China (2009), and a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Hong Kong (2014). Prior to joining SUSTech, he was an associate professor in the School of Government, Sun Yat-sen University and a post-doctoral fellow in the Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong. Working from the perspectives of political geography and political ecology, Dr. Wang’s work focuses on the political processes, institutional dynamics and social relationships in natural resources and environmental governance, with a particular interest in water issues such as irrigation institutions, urban and regional water conflicts and transboundary waters. Dr. Wang has successfully obtained funding from external sources such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the Ministry of Education and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province. His publications have appeared in reputable journals such as Regulation & Governance, The China Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary China, Ecology & Society, Land Use Policy. He has also served in the editorial board of Water Alternatives and several academic organizations such as the Political Geography and Geo-relations Committee of the Geographical Society of China, the Chinese Association for Administrative Division and Regional Development Promotion, the Environmental Sociology Committee of the Sociological Society of China, and the Center for Chinese Geo-relational Research.
Personal Profile
Education
- 2009 - 2014, The University of Hong Kong, Ph.D. in Human Geography
- 2007 - 2009, Renmin University of China, M.Phil. in Natural Resources Management
- 2003 - 2007,Beijing Normal University, B.Sc. in Geography
Academic positions
- 2020 - present, Center for Social Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Associate Professor
- 2016-2020, School of Government, Sun Yat-sen University, Associate Professor
- 2014-2016, Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Post-doctoral Fellow
Research areas
- Political Geography; Political Ecology; Water Governance; Environmental Politics; Common-pool resources
Professional services and outreach
- Water Alternatives, Editorial Board Member
- International Journal of Water Resources Development, Guest Editor
- Political Geography and Geo-relations Committee, Geographical Society of China, Committee Member
- Chinese Association for Administrative Division and Regional Development Promotion, Committee Member
- Environmental Sociology Committee, Sociological Society of China, Committee Member
- Center for Chinese Public Administration Research, Ministry of Education, Research Fellow
- Center for Chinese Geo-relational Research, Beijing Normal University, Research Fellow
- Guangzhou Institute of Urban Innovation, Vice-director
Research
Political Geography
Political Ecology
Water Governance
Environmental Politics
Common-pool Resources
Teaching
Foundation of Sustainable Development
Environmental Policy and Governance
Urbanization in China
Publications Read More
Dr. Wang’s publications have appeared in reputable journals such as Regulation & Governance, The China Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary China, Ecology & Society, Land Use Policy, Water Resources Management and so forth. His research focuses on political processes, institutional dynamics and social relationships in natural resources and environmental governance. His current work examines state-society, central-local, inter-jurisdictional and transnational interactions through the lens of water governance at different scales. At the local level, he engages in a scholarly discussion with literature on common-pool resources and institutionalism through cases of irrigation management in China. Particular attention is paid to institutional changes as well as the state-society interplay in a rapidly transforming rural society. At the regional level, his research examines policy instruments and policy processes for addressing basin-wide and regional water conflicts between and among an enlarging group of stakeholders, government sectors and administrative jurisdictions in the broad context of Chinese political economy. Particular attention is paid to uneven distribution of water resources, inter-jurisdictional water pollution and entrenched regional inequalities, which bring about challenges to maintaining regional social-ecological sustainability. At the global level, his research focuses on the governance of international rivers (e.g., the Lancang-Mekong River) and the roles of various state and non-state actors in shaping discourses, institutions and geographies across scales. By engaging in discussion with literature on political geography and hydropolitics, this line of inquiry analyzes complex power relations bound up in various decision-making and policy implementation processes in regard to water allocation, hydropower development, fishery, biodiversity conservation and so forth.