Fieldwork
I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the Department of Politics at the University of York. I study authoritarian politics, mainly from a global comparative perspective but sometimes focus especially on North Korea.
My book manuscript, Purges: A Dictator’s Fight to Survive, examines the causes of elite purges and their effects on autocratic survival. I argue that threats to a dictator’s survival from the people and foreign states affect patterns of purges, and that rather than fomenting instability, purges help dictators survive.
My work has been published or is forthcoming in journals including British Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Peace Research, and Democratization.
PhD in Political Science, 2020
University of Missouri
MA in Intelligence and International Security, 2013
King's College London
BSc in Politics, 2010
Bristol University
Purges: A Dictator’s Fight to Survive (book manuscript)
“Brothers in Arms No More: An Individual-Level Quantitative Analysis of Elite Purges After Successful Coups” (with Austin S. Matthews)
The Consolidation of Kim Jong Un (book manuscript, with Peter Ward)
“Elite Management Before Autocratic Leader Succession: Evidence from North Korea” (with Peter Ward)
“Do We Have a Deal? Inferring Closed Autocracies’ Intentions Through Sentiment Analysis of Propaganda” (with Ji Yeon (Jean) Hong)
“China’s Surveillance State at Home & Abroad: The Development & Global Export of Chinese Policing Technology” (with Sheena Chestnut Greitens)
Lecturer
POL00050I | Political Enquiry in Politics | York | Spring 2022 (scheduled)
POL00077M | Comparative Institutions and Public Policy | York | Fall 2021
POL00002C | Introduction to Democratic Politics | York | Fall 2021
PS2700 | Comparative Political Systems | Mizzou | Spring 2019
Syllabus; Teaching evaluation
Lab Instructor
Basics of Spatial Interdependence in Theory and Practice | IPSA-USP | Spring 2018
Teaching evaluation
PS3000 | Introduction to Political Research | Mizzou | Fall 2017
PS2700 | Comparative Political Systems | Mizzou | Fall 2016
Teaching Assistant
PS4700 | America’s Wars in Asia | Mizzou | Spring 2017
PS4770 | Comparative Political Behavior | Mizzou | Spring 2016
PS1100 | American Government | Mizzou | Fall 2015
“Review of The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un.” Journal of Asian Studies 79(4): 1013-1014.
“How Would Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Handle North Korea?” The National Interest, August 20, 2020.
“Body Politic: Why Kim Jong Un’s Health Still Matters.” NK News, June 26, 2020.
“The Importance of Regime Similarity to Explain Democratic Diffusion.” Democratic Audit, June 26, 2019 (with Sheena Chestnut Greitens).
“North Korea is Marching with South Korea at the Olympics Opening Ceremony. Does This Mean a Diplomatic Thaw is Coming?” The Washington Post, February 9, 2018.
“Review of North Korea: Markets and Military Rule.” Democratization 25(1): 187-188.
“Will U.N. Sanctions Stop North Korean Missile tests? Don’t Count On It.” The Washington Post, August 9, 2017.