# Tom Pepinsky

> Tom Pepinsky is the Walter F. LaFeber Professor of Government and Public Policy at Cornell University and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. A specialist in Southeast Asian comparative politics, democratic backsliding, and political economy, he is best known for his viral 2017 essay 'Everyday Authoritarianism is Boring and Tolerable,' which warned Americans that authoritarian erosion looks mundane from the inside. Fluent in Indonesian, he has written five books spanning Indonesian and Malaysian politics, COVID-19 partisanship, and global democratic challenges. His Substack newsletter, launched in 2025, continues his two-decade tradition of public-facing analysis at the intersection of academic rigor and accessible political commentary.

- **Role:** Walter F. LaFeber Professor of Government and Public Policy at Cornell University
- **Organizations:** Cornell University - Department of Government, Cornell University - Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, Brookings Institution, Journal of East Asian Studies (Editor-in-Chief), Southeast Asia Program (SEAP), Cornell University (Director), Southeast Asia Research Group (SEAREG, Co-founder)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** A.B. in Linguistics and International Relations, Brown University, Ph.D. in Political Science, Yale University
- **Known for:** Inaugural holder of the Walter F. LaFeber Professorship at Cornell University (2021), APSA Franklin L. Burdette/Pi Sigma Alpha Award for best paper at APSA 2009 annual meeting, John A. Lent Prize (Association for Asian Studies) for outstanding scholarly work on Malaysia/Singapore/Brunei Studies

## Career timeline

- **2001** — Graduated from Brown University with A.B. in Linguistics and International Relations
- **2007** — Completed Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University
- **2007** — Joined University of Colorado Boulder as Assistant Professor of Political Science
- **2008** — Joined Cornell University as Assistant Professor of Government
- **2009** — Published debut book 'Economic Crises and the Breakdown of Authoritarian Regimes' (Cambridge University Press)
- **2010** — Won APSA Franklin L. Burdette/Pi Sigma Alpha Award for best paper at APSA 2009
- **2014** — Co-edited 'Beyond Oligarchy: Wealth, Power, and Contemporary Indonesian Politics'
- **2017** — Published viral essay 'Everyday Authoritarianism is Boring and Tolerable' - republished at Vox
- **2018** — Published 'Piety and Public Opinion: Understanding Indonesian Islam' (Oxford University Press)
- **2018** — Became Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution
- **2021** — Appointed inaugural Walter F. LaFeber Professor of Government and Public Policy at Cornell
- **2022** — Published 'Pandemic Politics: The Deadly Toll of Partisanship in the Age of COVID' (Princeton University Press)
- **2022** — Became Editor-in-Chief of Journal of East Asian Studies
- **2023** — Migrated from Twitter to Bluesky (@tompepinsky.bsky.social)
- **2024** — Published in American Political Science Review, Perspectives on Politics, and other leading journals
- **2025** — Launched Substack newsletter 'Tom Pepinsky' (February 2025)
- **2025** — Published 'Global Challenges to Democracy' (Cambridge University Press)
- **2025** — Led Journal of East Asian Studies full transition to Open Access

## Achievements

- Inaugural holder of the Walter F. LaFeber Professorship at Cornell University (2021)
- APSA Franklin L. Burdette/Pi Sigma Alpha Award for best paper at APSA 2009 annual meeting
- John A. Lent Prize (Association for Asian Studies) for outstanding scholarly work on Malaysia/Singapore/Brunei Studies
- Viral 2017 essay 'Everyday Authoritarianism is Boring and Tolerable' republished at Vox and widely cited
- Five scholarly books including publications from Cambridge, Princeton, and Oxford University Presses
- Editor-in-Chief of Journal of East Asian Studies, leading its transition to full Open Access in 2025
- Co-founder of Southeast Asia Research Group (SEAREG)
- Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution
- Past President of the American Institute for Indonesian Studies
- Blogging since 2004 - one of academia's longest-running political science blogs

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Appeared on Get More Smarter podcast to assess one year of Trump's second term
- **2026-01** — Published 'Agentic AI and Social Science Research Practice' on Substack
- **2025-12** — Published 'Measuring the Credibility Revolution in Political Science'
- **2025-10** — Published 'Comparative Politics Needs Area Studies, and Area Studies Needs Comparative Politics'
- **2025-08** — Published 'Cryptocurrencies and the Political Economy of Money'
- **2025-02** — Published 'Everyday Authoritarianism is Maddening and Stupid' - sequel to his viral 2017 essay
- **2025-02** — Launched Substack newsletter 'Tom Pepinsky'
- **2025-01** — Led Journal of East Asian Studies full transition to Open Access
- **2025-01** — Published 'Global Challenges to Democracy' (Cambridge University Press)
- **2024-11** — Published widely-read essay 'Living Through the Next American Political Order' post-election

## Links

- Website: https://tompepinsky.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-pepinsky-2674a311/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/TomPepinsky

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tom-pepinsky
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-24