Fieldwork
I am a PhD Candidate in Political Science at the University of Missouri, and for academic year 2019-20 a US-Asia Grand Strategy Predoctoral Fellow at the University of Southern California and a Korea Foundation Fellow. I study how non-democratic leaders maintain power, particularly in dictatorships, using qualitative and quantitative methods including spatial econometrics.
My dissertation examines the causes of elite purges in dictatorships. I argue that a dictator’s threat environment structures their incentives and opportunities to engage in elite purges. However, dictators respond to threats differently at the national and individual-levels. The implications generated by the theory necessitate a diverse set of data and empirical tests. I use a range of national and individual-level quantitative and qualitative original data, including individual-level quantitative data on elite purges in Kim Jong Un’s North Korea.
My work has been published or is forthcoming in journals including Comparative Political Studies, Party Politics, Democratization, and Research & Politics.
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
“Political Dominance and Sub-National Election Violence in Africa” (with Michael Wahman).
Conditionally accepted at ‘Journal of Peace Research.’
“Repression Technology: How Internet Access Worsens Human Rights in Autocracies.”
“Does Peacekeeping Lead to Peaceful Elections? UN Peacekeeping and Election Violence” (with Bryce Reeder).
“Playing to Win: How Expected Effectiveness Influences United Nations Members’ Peacekeeper Contributions” (with Michael Hendricks).
“Explaining Local-Level Effectiveness: A Non-Stationary Analysis of the UN Peacekeeping Operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” (with Michael Hendricks and Bryce Reeder).
Teaching Instructor
PS2700 - Comparative Political Systems, Spring 2019.
Syllabus; Teaching evaluation
Lab Instructor
IPSA-USP: Basics of Spatial Interdependence in Theory and Practice, Spring 2018.
Teaching evaluation
PS3000 - Introduction to Political Research, Fall 2017.
PS2700 - Comparative Political Systems, Fall 2016.
Teaching Assistant
PS4700 - America’s Wars in Asia, Spring 2017.
PS4770 - Comparative Political Behavior, Spring 2016.
PS1100 - American Government, Fall 2015.
“The importance of regime similarity to explain democratic diffusion.” Democratic Audit, June 26, 2019.
“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.
“Will U.N. sanctions stop North Korean missile tests? Don’t count on it.” The Washington Post, August 9, 2017.