Hello!

I am an assistant professor of Public Policy and Political Science at Duke University. I study the determinants of state legitimacy and its implications for citizen trust and compliance in polarized and contentious contexts. I primarily focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

Thematically, my research contributes to literatures on conflict legacies, citizen engagement, and media & polarization. My book (Governing After War) explores how rebel groups engage civilians to build organizational capacity and consolidate power after rebel victory.

My work has been published in the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, World Politics, Political Science Research and Methods, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, and others. I was a 2018-2019 Jennings Randolph Peace Scholar at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). I received my PhD in Government from Harvard in 2020. From 2020-2023, I was an assistant professor at UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy.