BINGSHU ZHAO
B.ZHAO@exeter.ac.uk
Dr Bingshu Zhao
I am a postdoctoral research fellow in political theory and the history of political thought at the University of exeter.
Research Interests & Projects
I am a postdoctoral research fellow on the NERC-funded project, 'Renewing biodiversity through a people-in-nature approach' (2022-2027), at the University of Exeter.
With a focus on environmental justice, I am working on the following projects and am keen to collaborate.
Environmental Justice Digest - A co-created hub for academics, practitioners, policymakers, the public, and anyone seeking to understand or advance environmental justice. It features deliberative forums, theoretical perspectives, case studies, policy explainers, and thematic resources.
1
Voices of Environmental Justice - An interview series featuring people from diverse backgrounds, exploring what environmental justice means in different contexts and how to promote it. Interviewees include Alexandra Pimor, Justine Huxley, Mika Peck, Neil Williams, and more in plan.
Please don't hesitate to get in touch with me and share your voice.
2
Research workshops and articles
Work in progress; updates coming soon.
3
Research Interests & Projects
Prior to joining RENEW, I completed my PhD in political theory at the Centre for Political Thought, University of Exeter. My dissertation examines the ideas of the family in relation to authority and the state in early modern political thought, focusing on Jean Bodin, Thomas Hobbes, and Sir Robert Filmer.
I presented my research at conferences, including the Political Studies Association Annual Conference (2026), the Britain & Ireland Association for Political Thought Annual Conference (2025), and the International Society for Intellectual History Annual Conference (2024).
Furthering my research interests in the history of political thought, I am writing articles on Bodin and Hobbes, and working on the following two broadly situated projects:
1. The issues of intergenerationality in the history of ideas.
2. The politics of the family in comparative contexts, especially between European and Chinese traditions.
Conversations & Interviews
I conduct academic interviews and facilitate meaningful conversations with scholars worldwide, with the support of my colleagues at the Exeter Centre for Political Thought, the Exeter-Fudan Global Thought Network, the Entanglement of Political Languages Network, and the Citizens’ Empowerment Network.
Interview with Professor Shuangli Zhang (Fudan University):
European Marxism and 'The Hegel-Marx Problem'
2025
Interview with Professor Thomas Heberer (University of Duisburg-Essen):
The Historical Process and Institutions of Modernisation and Development in the Context of a Post-Revolutionary 'Socialist' China
2025
Interview with Professor Xiangchen Sun (Fudan University):
Positioning Chinese and Western Ontologies in a Meaningful Dialogue
2024
Interview with Professor Regenia Gagnier (University of Exeter):
Global Modernities and Transculturation in Modernist Literature
2024
Interview with Dr Nan Zhang (Fudan University, University of Hong Kong):
English Literature, Global Modernism, and Transcultural Conversation
2024
Interview with Dr Chunrong Liu (Fudan University, University of Oslo):
Citizen Empowerment, Spontaneous Order and Community Building
2022
Interview with Dr Andrea Ghiselli (Fudan University):
2022
Interview with Dr Emilie Frenkiel (Université Paris Est Créteil):
2022
Interview with Professor Tongdong Bai (Fudan University):
Confucianism and Knowledge across Borders
2021
I film and produce videos of academic conversations and book interviews for events, institutions, and projects.
Conversations & Interviews
2026
Conversations on Democratic Representations (11 Episodes)
Interview Series for the EU Horizon-funded REDIRECT project
2026
Interview with Alex Prichard and Ruth Kinna by Dario Castiglione & Bice Maiguashca:
Constitutionalising Anarchy (Cambridge University Press, 2026)
2025
Interview with Professor Demin Duan:
Tocqueville between East and West (University of Wales Press, 2025)
2025
Interview with Jean-François Drolet and Michael C. Williams by Gregorio Bettiza:
World of the Right: Radical Conservatism and Global Order (Cambridge University Press, 2024)
© 2026 Bingshu Zhao. All rights reserved.