Professor Tat Yan Kong

Tat Yan Kong is Professor of Comparative Politics and Development Studies at SOAS University of London.

His research focuses on development politics and comparative political economy (pathways of development, socialist to market transitions, economic and social sustainability of advanced capitalism) with reference to East Asia. He is also interested in security and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Professor Kong is the author of The Politics of Economic Reform in South Korea: A Fragile Miracle (London and New York: Routledge, 2000). His other publications include articles in journals such as British Journal of Political Science, Competition & Change, Economy & Society, Government & Opposition, Journal of Contemporary Asia, Modern Asian Studies, New Political Economy, Pacific Review, Political Studies, Politics & Society, and Review of International Political Economy. He is currently completing a monograph on North Korea’s political and economic development in the 21st century (Singapore: World Scientific Press, forthcoming).

As a postgraduate, Professor Kong was the recipient of an ESRC Studentship. He has received research and conference grants from bodies such as the Academy of Korean Studies, British Academy, Economic & Social Research Council, Nuffield Foundation, and the Sino-British Fellowship Trust. He is currently a co-investigator on a joint project entitled 'Globalization, Economic Institutions and Power Relations: Inclusive Growth in East Asia; (supported by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong).

Professor Kong is a former Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies at SOAS. He has also given evidence on East Asian affairs to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and provided commentary to media and other outlets. He welcomes PhD applications relating to East Asia in the sub-fields of comparative politics, international politics, and political economy.