Vu Khanh Luong

PhD Student

University of Florida

Vu Luong, a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at the University of Florida, specializing in Comparative Politics. His research focuses on state-building, authoritarianism, and civil–military relations, with a regional emphasis on East Asia and Southeast Asia. His dissertation, State-Building from Below: The Politics of Insurgencies and Their Paths to Power, examines how insurgent movements construct governance and legitimacy while competing for authority. More broadly, his work explores political warfare, weak-state durability, and alternative pathways of state formation, highlighting how ideology, institutions, and conflict shape long-term political development across regions.