Yizhou Miao joined the Department of European and International Studies as a PhD candidate in International Political Economy Research in September 2025. He holds an MSc with Distinction in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (2024-25) and a First-Class BA (Hons) in International Relations from King’s College London (2021-2024). He was elected an Associate of King’s College (AKC) in 2024.

In addition to his PhD research, Yizhou works as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA), leading seminars for undergraduate modules in the School of Politics and Economics. He is also a Postgraduate Research (PGR) Rep in the department.

Office hours

Wednesday: 15.00 - 16.00. Bush House (North East wing) Room 7.21

Meetings at alternative times may be arranged by contacting yizhou.2.miao@kcl.ac.uk in advance.

Research interests

• Semiconductors and the ‘Chip War’
• Political economy of core technologies (e.g., Global Value Chain and Industrial Policies)
• American hegemony and its historical evolution
• China’s techno-economic rise

Teaching

• 4AAOB104 Introduction to International Economics
• 5AAOB204 International Political Economy

PhD research

What Explains the Variations in the United States’ Strategies in ‘Chip Wars’? A Comparative Analysis of US-Japan and US-China Semiconductor Conflicts and Implications for the Evolution of American Hegemony.

This study interprets four key variations in the United States’ strategies across two conflicts on semiconductors (i.e., the ‘Chip Wars’) to survey the evolutionary pattern of American hegemony from 1982 to date.

Yizhou’s research is supervised by Professor Magnus Ryner and Dr Sean Kenji Starrs.

PhD supervisors

Professor Magnus Ryner (European and International Studies)

Dr Sean Kenji Starrs (International Development)