Clare is a PhD candidate in the Department of War Studies, specialising in authoritarian regionalism in Southeast Asia.

Prior to commencing her PhD, Clare completed two degrees at King's, including a Bachelor of Arts in War Studies and a Master of Arts in Conflict, Security, and Development. She has expertise in issues surrounding international security and development, peace- and state-building, and societies at war.

Clare is also a Research Assistant on a British Academy-funded International Writing Workshop series led by the Children, Youth, Peace and the Arts research group at King’s, which aims to support early career researchers in Mindanao, the Philippines, by building research capacity. She is interested in similar opportunities which focus on advancing indigenous knowledge and supporting under-represented scholars.

Research Interests

Clare’s research interests lie in the study of democracy, authoritarianism and political transitions. In particular, she is interested in international influences on non-democracies and pathways to the consolidation of authoritarian regimes.

Her paper, “Illiberal responses to ‘fake news’ in Southeast Asia,” was published in the journal Democratization and explores the role of the public sphere in determining a regime’s response to the issue of misinformation.

Publications

• Cho, Clare S. M. (2025) “Illiberal responses to ‘fake news’ in Southeast Asia,” Democratization 32(5): 1091-1111. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2024.2442395