Regional Order
Strategic ambiguity as political practice
active
Tracing how neutrality, hedging, and selective alignment operate less as fixed categories than as negotiated political language.
Academic Portfolio • International Relations
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSGLOBAL GOVERNANCEGEOPOLITICS
Alex Junfu Lu
Researching power, institutions, and strategic competition in world politics.International Relations
Global Governance
Strategic Competition
Institutional Design
IR
Undergraduate Research
MUN
Conference Leadership
IPE
Political Economy Focus
About
Exploring Politics, Institutions, and Global Affairs.
Alex Junfu Lu is an undergraduate student in International Relations at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, with a strong passion for academic research, global affairs, and political analysis. His academic journey has been shaped by a deep curiosity about how institutions, ideas, and power interact within the international system.
Through extensive coursework, independent research, and conference experience, he has developed particular interests in international political economy, global governance, and contemporary political issues. Beyond the classroom, he actively engages in Model United Nations leadership, policy discussion, and conference design, viewing academic inquiry as both an intellectual pursuit and a practical engagement with the world.
Field Note 01
Power is rarely neutral.
IR
I study how institutions, domestic coalitions, and strategic ambiguity shape choices under geopolitical pressure.
Research
Academic Inquiry • Political Analysis
Driven by curiosity and critical thinking to understand power, ideas, and political dynamics in the international system.
Governance
Institutions • Global Affairs
Exploring how institutions shape collective action and global challenges through governance, policy, and international cooperation.
Diplomacy
Negotiation • Multilateralism
Engaging in dialogue and negotiation across diverse perspectives to build understanding and advance cooperative solutions.
Conferences
MUN • Committee Design
Designing meaningful MUN experiences and fostering impactful discussions through structure, leadership, and collaboration.
Current Focus
A research agenda built around institutions, pressure, and political language.
Across region-specific and thematic projects, I keep returning to the same question: how do actors perform restraint, distribute risk, and preserve room for maneuver when institutions cannot fully settle conflict?
Case analysisInstitutional designSimulation writingVisual argument building
Climate Politics
Responsibility under unequal institutional design
active
Following how financial asymmetry and governance architecture shape who is asked to pay, adapt, and justify delay.
Institutional Method
Formal weakness, informal restraint
active
Studying how ritual, reputation, and procedural ambiguity still structure behavior where enforcement remains thin.
Research
Research Directions and Working Papers
An evolving body of research focused on power, institutions, negotiation, and the political dynamics shaping international affairs.
2026Working Paper
The Myth of Indonesian Neutrality: Strategic Ambiguity and Selective Alignment in Southeast Asian Great-Power Politics
This project examines how Indonesia navigates Sino-American rivalry through hedging, selective alignment, and institutional ambiguity rather than conventional neutrality.
IndonesiaHedgingASEANIndo-Pacific
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2026Research Theme
Climate Governance and Institutional Inequality
This project examines the Financial Rift between emissions, vulnerability, and climate finance, proposing a justice-based Climate Policy Coordination Alliance.
Climate JusticeFinancial RiftCPCAGlobal South
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2026Research Article
De-Escalatory Institutionalism in the Grey Zone: How Informal Regional Institutions Manage Great-Power Rivalry Where Formal Authority Fails
This article explains how ASEAN's informal institutional architecture manages South China Sea grey-zone tensions through normative enmeshment, ritualized ambiguity, and reputational friction.
ASEANGrey-Zone ConflictInformal Institutions
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Academic Projects
Institutional and Conference Work
2026
Academic Director
Suzhou International Model United Nations
Leading committee architecture, research standards, and delegate-facing academic experience.
2026
Rules Designer
WHO Executive Board Special Session
Designing procedure, crisis rhythm, and negotiation incentives for a public-health simulation.
2026
Research Lead
UNODC Background Guide
Building issue briefs that connect institutional mandates, security dynamics, and policy tradeoffs.
Contact