Kristin Surak

About me

Kristin Surak is Associate Professor of Political Sociology at 杏吧论坛. Her research on global mobility, nationalism, and Japanese politics has been translated into over a dozen languages. Her most recent book, (Harvard University Press 2023), provides the first ethnographic analysis of the global market in the sale of citizenship to the wealthy and has been covered by the BBC, NPR, Foreign Affairs, The Economist, and other news outlets around the world. She has held several internationally recognised positions, including Richard B. Fischer Member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Fung Global Fellow at Princeton University, Sainsbury Fellow at the Sainsbury Institute for Japanese Arts and Cultures. She is a Lifetime Fellow of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, and has been a visiting professor at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and New York University in Abu Dhabi. The American Academy of Political and Social Science has recognised her scholarship, which has been funded by the German Science Foundation (DFG), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Japan Foundation, Fulbright-Hays Foundation, and Leverhulme Foundation, among others. She comments regularly for the global media, including the BBC, Bloomberg TV, Huffington Post, Channel News Asia TV, and Sky TV News and her reserach has been covered by the New York Times, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Foreign Affairs, Evening Standard, Al Jazeera, Le Monde Diplomatique, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Asahi Newspaper, and other media outlets in over 30 countries.

Find out more about Kristin .

The Golden Passport 0 Russian translation

Expertise Details

Political Sociology; Japan; Elites; International Migration; Investment Migration; Golden Passports; Nationalism

Books

Kristin Surak (2023). . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Russian translation: Kristin Surak (2024). Fortis Press.

Dimitry Kochenov and Kristin Surak, eds. (2023). . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kristin Surak (2013). . Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Japanese translation: Kristin Surak (2018). . Saihatesha Press: Tokyo.

Journal Articles

2025. Surak, Kristin. “.” Contemporary Japan. DOI 10.1080/18692729.2025.246449. Pp. 1-18.

2024. Surak, Kristin. “.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. DOI 10.1080/1369183X.2024.2332825

2024. Surak, Kristin. “” Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales (ARSS). 251(1): 50-73.

2021. Surak, Kristin. "” European Journal of Sociology. 62(2): DOI: 10.1017/S0003975621000217

2021. Surak, Kristin and Yusuke Tsuzuki. "? Assessing the Economic Origins and Outcomes of Residence by Investment Programs in the European Union.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. DOI:

2020. Surak, Kristin. " Comparing the Uptake of Residence by Investment Programs in the European Union." Journal of Contemporary European Studies. DOI: 10.1080/14782804.2020.1839742

2020. Surak, Kristin. “.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. DOI: 10.1080/1369183X.2020.1758554

2020. Centeno, Miguel, Christopher Chase-Dunn, Nitsan Chorev, Marilyn Grell-Brysk, Hiroko Inoue, Paul Larcey, Victoria Reyes, and Kristin Surak. “.” Global Perspectives. 1(1). DOI: 10.1525/001c.11649

2018. Surak, Kristin. “: Guestwork Programs in East Asia.” International Migration Review. 52(2): 487-523.

2017. Surak, Kristin. “: Toward a Phenomenology of National Experiences.” Sociological Theory. 35(4): 312-33.

2017. Surak, Kristin. “: Assessing Kymlicka’s Liberal Multiculturalism in Japan.” Nationalism and Ethnic Politics. 23(2): 227-39.

2014. Surak, Kristin. “[G1] .” New Left Review. (88): 139-49.
- Translated into Korean (“Ilbonŭl Tashi P'anda,” Nyurep'ŭt'ŭ Ribyu. (6) 2015: 409-27)

2013. Surak, Kristin. “.” New Left Review. (84): 84-102.
- Translated into Spanish (“Gastarbeiter: Una Taxonomía,” NLR Secunda Época. (84) 2014: 94-114)
- Translated into Swedish (“Gästarbetare: en klassificering,” Marxistarkiv)

2013. Surak, Kristin. “” (Guestworkers). Merkur: Zeitschrift für europäisches Denken (Sonderheft). 9/10: 1024-35.

2012. Surak, Kristin. “: A Praxeology of Making and Maintaining Nations.” European Journal of Sociology. 53(2): 171-204.

2011. Surak, Kristin. “: Symbolic Power and the Nationalization of Cultural Practices.” European Journal of Sociology. 52(2): 175-208

2010. Surak, Kristin. “T.” New Left Review. (63): 151- 9.
- Translated into Spanish (“El Negocio de la Pertenencia,” NLR Secunda Época. (63) 2010: 149-58.)

2008. Surak, Kristin. “” International Migration Review. 42(3): 550-75.

2006. Surak, Kristin. “‘: Tea in Japan and the US.” Ethnic and Racial Studies. 29(5): 828-54.

Policy Reports and Working Papers

2024. Surak, Kristin. “The Misuse of Citizenship and Residence by Investment: Going Beyond the OECD/FATF Report to Assess Key Risks.” Social Policy Working Paper 02-14. London School of Economics and Political Science.

2021. Surak, Kristin. "” European Added Value Assessment (EAVA) commissioned by the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS). Brussels: European Union.
- Cited by the OECD’s Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) report, “Misuse of Citizenship and Residency by Investment Programmes.” November 2023.

2021. Surak, Kristin. "." COMPAS: Centre on Migration, Policy and Society. Working Paper nr. 158. University of Oxford.

2021. Surak, Kristin. "." COMPAS: Centre on Migration, Policy and Society. Working Paper nr. 159. University of Oxford.

2003. Recchi, Ettore, Damian Tambini, Emiliana Baldoni, David Williams, Kristin Surak, and Adrian Favell. “Intra-EU Migration: A Socio-Demographic Overview.” PIONEUR Working Paper No. 3.

Book Chapters

2025. Surak, Kristin. “” In Investment Migration in Europe and the World: Current Issues. Dimitry Kochenov, Madeleine Sumption, Martijn van den Brink, editors. Oxford: Hart Publishing. 143-169.

2023. Surak, Kristin. “.” In Citizenship and Residence Sales: Rethinking the Boundaries of Belonging. Dimitry Kochenov and Kristin Surak, editors. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 25-69.

2023. Kochenov, Dimitry and Kristin Surak. “.” In Citizenship and Residence Sales: Rethinking the Boundaries of Belonging. Dimitry Kochenov and Kristin Surak, editors. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1-21.

2021. Surak, Kristin. “.” In . Tesseltje de Lange and Willem Maas, editors. Cambridge University Press.

2020. Surak, Kristin. “Japan, Land of the Rising Right.” In . Boris Vormann and Michael Weinman, editors. London: Routledge.

2020. Surak, Kristin. “What Money Can Buy: Citizenship by Investment on a Global Scale.” In . Didier Fassin, editor. London: Pluto Press. 21-38.

2017. Surak, Kristin. “Engaging Objects: A Phenomenology of the Tea Ceremony and Japaneseness.” In . Genevieve Zubrzycki, editor. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 173-92.

2017. Surak, Kristin. “Tea Flows: A Praxeological Perspective on Rituals.” In , Markus Gottwald, Kay Kirchmann, and Heike Paul, editors. Bielefeld: Transcript-Verlag. 175-87.

2015. Surak, Kristin. “Guestworkers Globally.” In , Simon McMahon, editor. Surrey: Edward Elgar. 167-83.

2012. Surak, Kristin. “Migration Industries and Developmental States in East Asia.” In , Ninna Nyberg Sørensen and Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, editors. London: Routledge. 89-110.

2010. Surak, Kristin. “Making Tea Japanese.” In , Rupert Cox and Christoph Brumann, editors. London: Routledge. 21-30.

Op Eds and Blogs

2025. Surak, Kristin. “.” 杏吧论坛APP American Politics and Policy Blog. 11 March.

2024. Surak, Kristin. “.” Jacobin. 17 November.

2023. Surak, Kristin. “.” Jacobin. 1 October.

2023. Surak, Kristin. “.” The Wall Street Journal. 8 September.

2023. Surak, Kristin. “.“ Tagesspiegel. 18 August.

2022. Surak, Kristin. “.” Evening Standard. 8 July.

2021. Surak, Kristin. “” 杏吧论坛 Business Review. 26 May.

2021. Surak, Kristin. “” 杏吧论坛 European Politics and Policy Blog. 26 May.

2020. Surak, Kristin.“.” Globalcit. 3 June.

2018. Surak, Kristin.“.” Verso Press. 11 July.

2017. Surak, Kristin.“.” International Politics and Society. 11 October.

2016. Surak, Kristin.“.” The Washington Post. 15 November 15.

2015. Surak, Kristin.“受け入れにも積極的に” [Towards a Positive Reception (of refugees)]. Dōshin. P. 8, 23 November.

2015. Surak, Kristin. “.” Jacobin. 1 October.

2014. Surak, Kristin. “.” The Diplomat. 21 December.

2014. Surak, Kristin. “保守化の懸念” [Concern About Increasing Conservativism]. Dōshin. P. 6, 17 December 17.

2014. Surak, Kristin. “.” Jacobin. 19 August 19.

2014. Surak, Kristin. “.” OpenDemocracy. 9 July.

Other Print Publications

2022. Surak, Kristin. “.” The Guardian. 8 July.

2021. Surak, Kristin. “.” Sidecar. 1 January.

2020. Surak, Kristin. : Dual Nationality as a Global Asset by Yossi Harpaz. American Journal of Sociology. 126(3).

2019. Surak, Kristin. “.” New Statesman. May 17: 22-25.

2019. Surak, Kristin. by Elizabeth Corbett and Gathering for Tea in Modern Japan by Taka Oshikiri. American Historical Review. 124(4):1440-1442.

2018. Surak, Kristin. “.” Jacobin Magazine (30): 60-4.

2016. Surak, Kristin. “: The Growth of Citizenship by Investment Programs.” Investment Migration Working Papers, IMC-RP 2016/3.

2016. Surak, Kristin. “Kosmopoliten: Der Handel mit Staatsbürgerschaften als globales Geschäftsmodell” [Cosmpolites: The Trade in Citizenship as a Global Business Model]. Lettre International (115): 19-22. (Extended version of “Our Citizenship is Expensive!”)
- Translated into Romanian (“Cosmopoliṭii,” Lettre Internationale, (101-102) 2017: 37-41.

2016. Surak, Kristin. “” London Review of Books. September 22:39-40.

2016. Surak, Kristin. “.” Los Angeles Review of Books. 4 August.

2014. Surak, Kristin. 「お茶の専門家から文化の専門家へ―家元制度の成立」[: The Formation of the Iemoto System] Wochikochi. Magazine of the Japan Foundation.

2014. Surak, Kristin. “Culture, Nation, and the Tea Ceremony.” Center for Comparative Japanese Studies Annual (10). 133-37.

2013. Surak, Kristin. “Karaoke im Liebeshotel.” Lettre International (101): 132.

2012. Surak, Kristin. “Die Ethnizitätsindustrie.” Lettre International (97): 114-8. (Extended version of “The Business of Belonging”)

2011. Surak, Kristin. Review of Japanese Women, Class, and the Tea Ceremony: The Voices of Tea Practitioners in Northern Japan, by Kaeko Chiba. Pacific Affairs 84(3): 580-1.

2010. Surak, Kristin. “Family Reunification in Europe and East Asia.” EUI Review (4): 17-8.

2010. Surak, Kristin. Review of Diaspora Without Homeland: Being Korean in Japan, Sonia Ryang and John Lie, editors. Pacific Affairs 83(4): 797-8.

2003. Recchi, Ettore, Damian Tambini, Emiliana Baldoni, David Williams, Kristin Surak, and Adrian Favell. “Intra-EU Migration: A Socio-Demographic Overview.” PIONEUR Working Paper No. 3.

Kristin's research on elite mobility, international migration, nationalism, and politics has been translated into a half-dozen languages. In addition to publishing in major academic and intellectual journals, she also writes regularly for popular outlets, including the London Review of Books, Washington Post, the Guardian, New Statesman, and the Wall Street Journal. Her book Making Tea, Making Japan: Cultural Nationalism in Practice (Stanford University Press 2013) received the Book of the Year Award from the American Sociological Association’s Asian Section.

Kristin is part of the Politics and Human Rights research cluster.

Kristin teaches courses on Global Mobilities: International Migration and Politics and Society.

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杏吧论坛

Dr Kristin Surak

Associate Professor in Sociology

Department of Sociology