About

Welcome! I am a PhD Candidate in political science and international affairs at the University of California San Diego. My research lies at the interesection of comparative politics, international relations, and political economy. My substantive work explores the political geography of civil war and state building in Africa. My dissertation project uses geospatial data and methods to map and explain the spatial extent of governmental control in African states. I am particularly interested in the variation in govermental control throughout the continent, both within states and between them. I am also interested in the effects of governmental control, or the lack thereof: How do patterns of welfare, security, and market activity differ in areas controlled by the center compared to areas in which the goverment either lacks a monopoly on violence, or exercises little authority? Methodologically, I gravitate towards geospatial methods, large n sample surveys, and experimental designs.

During the PhD program, I spent several years in Berlin as a research fellow with the Institutions and Political Inequality group in the Political Economy of Development cluster at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung). Prior to the PhD, I completed a Master of International Affairs degree at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego, with emphases in international security and Latin American politics. I also hold a B.A. in international relations, as well as a B.S. and M.A. in political science.

At UC San Diego, I teach a variety of courses ranging from introductory surveys of American politics, comparative politics, and research methods, to upper division undergraduate courses in African politics, civil war, and development. You can find my most recent syllabi, along with my teaching statement, under the teaching tab above.