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 contentious contexts. I examine these processes through projects on conflict, citizen engagement, and media & polarization, with a primary focus on sub-Saharan Africa. My book (Governing After War) explores how rebel groups engage civilians to build organizational capacity and consolidate power after rebel victory.

My work is supported by the International Growth Centre, J-PAL, and the Russell Sage Foundation among others, and has been published in journals including the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, and World Politics. I was a 2018-2019 Jennings Randolph Peace Scholar at the United States Institute of Peace. I received my PhD in Government from Harvard in 2020 and was an assistant professor at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy from 2020 to 2023.