John Wagner Givens, DPhil

Biography

Faculty Member Since 2022

Dr. John Wagner Givens is an associate professor in the international studies program at Spelman College. He earned his doctorate in politics from the University of Oxford and his master’s degree in Asian Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. His research examines governance, law, human rights, and political legitimacy in China and beyond amid intensifying great-power rivalry and rapid technological change.

He has been interviewed by the Los Angeles Times and Chinese Central Television and has published in a variety of venues including "PS: Political Science & Politics," "China Quarterly," "The Review of Policy Research," "Fordham Urban Law Journal," "Wisconsin International Law Journal," "Journal of East Asian Studies," "War on the Rocks," and "Newsweek."

Topics of Expertise 

• Authoritarian governance and legal institutions in China
• S.–China relations and cross-Strait politics
• Human rights, asylum, and access to justice in East Asia
• Technology, AI, surveillance, and digital governance
• Political language, naming and legitimacy

Education

Download Dr. Wagner Givens' CV

• Doctor of Philosophy in Politics, University of Oxford
• Master of Arts in Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
• Bachelor of the Science of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Research Interests

Dr. Givens’ research focuses on Chinese and East Asian politics, examining legal institutions, political authority, and the governance of emerging technologies. His work addresses Chinese foreign policy and cross-Strait relations, human rights and access to justice, media and censorship, and the political implications of artificial intelligence, blockchain governance, smart cities, and surveillance. His recent scholarship also explores the politics of naming as a mechanism of power and legitimacy in domestic and international contexts. 

Select Publications

REFEREED PUBLICATIONS

John Wagner Givens, “Studying the Future: How Asia can and Should Be a Priority for Study Abroad” "Collaborative Frontiers: HBCUs and Global Academic Programs and Partnerships in Asian Studies and Asia," Forthcoming.

John Wagner Givens, “What’s in a Name? Toward the Study of Names in Political Science” PS: Political Science & Politics, February 9, 2026, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096525101479.

John Wagner Givens, Heather Pincock, and Mark Percival, "Government of the People, by the Blockchain, for the Crypto? The Implausibility of Democratizing Cryptocurrency Governance" "Taiwan Journal of Democracy," Vol. 21, No. 2, 2025: 1-21.

John Wagner Givens, "Teaching Across the Straits: Asian Values and Human Rights" "The Geography Teacher," 2025: 1-6.

Evan Mistur, John Wagner Givens, and Daniel Matisoff, “Contagious COVID-19 Policies: Policy Diffusion During Times of Crisis” "Review of Policy Research," Vol. 40, No. 1, 2023: 36-62.

Eun Choi, John Wagner Givens, and Andrew MacDonald, “From Power Balancing to a Dominant Faction in Xi Jinping’s China” "China Quarterly," Vol. 248, No. 1, 2021: 935-956.

John Wagner Givens and Evan Mistur, “The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Nationalist Emulation During the COVID-19 Pandemic” "Journal of Chinese Political Science," Vol. 26, 2021: 213-234.

John Wagner Givens and Debra Lam, “Smarter Cities or Bigger Brother? How the Race for Smart Cities Could Determine the Future of China, Democracy, and Privacy” "Fordham Urban Law Journal," Vol. 47, No. 4, 2020: 829-882.

John Wagner Givens, “On Their Best Behavior? Foreign Plaintiffs in Chinese Administrative Litigation” in "Open Judicial Politics: An Empirical Reader," edited by Rorie Spill Solberg, Jennifer Segal Diascro, and Eric J. Waltenburg, Oregon State University Press, 2020: 260-288.

John Wagner Givens, “Justice Online? Lawyers and Legal Advice Websites in the People’s Republic of China” "Wisconsin International Law Journal," Vol. 37, No. 2, 2019: 207-248.

John Wagner Givens, “Sleeping with Dragons? Politically Embedded Lawyers Suing the Chinese State” Wisconsin International Law Journal, Vol. 31, No. 3, 2014: 101-140.

Jason Abbott, Andrew MacDonald, and John Wagner Givens, “New Social Media and (Electronic) Democratization in East and Southeast Asia: China and Malaysia Compared” "Taiwan Journal of Democracy," Vol. 9, No. 2, 2013: 105-137.

SELECTED PUBLIC SCHOLARSHIP

John Wagner Givens, “Taiwan, the Almost Invisible Not Quite Country” "China Currents," Vol. 22, No. 2, 2023.

John Wagner Givens, "Helping China Learn the Putin Lesson” "China Currents," Vol. 21, No. 3, 2022.

John Wagner Givens, "China Ostrichism: Why Didn’t the World Prepare for China’s Rise?" "China Currents," Vol. 21, No. 2, 2022.

John Wagner Givens, “Is the World Ready for China Risen?” "China Currents," Vol. 21, No. 1, 2022.

John Wagner Givens, "Taiwan is Not Ukraine; it is its Opposite" Global Policy, April 2022.

William Morrisey and John Wagner Givens, “The Measure of a Country: America’s Wonkiest Competition with China” "War on the Rocks," August 2020.

INTERVIEWS

Interviewed by the LA Times: “On global stage, ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Taiwanese winner says the word China hates” May 2024.

Interviewed by TVBS, Taipei, Taiwan, June 2023

Interviewed for Fox 42 KPTM, Omaha, April 2023

Interviewed by Georgia Public Broadcasting: “‘Don’t Invent Any Viruses’: Atlanta-Area Asian Students Face Rise in Hate Speech” December 2020. 

Interview for Chinese Central Television News, March 2013.