About

I am an Associate Professor of international relations and methodology in the Department of Political Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, where I was an Assistant Professor between 2018 and 2023 and won the Outstanding Junior Faculty Award (2022). I completed a  PhD in Political Science at the University of Minnesota (2018), where I also obtained a MSc in Applied Economics. My research applies innovative approaches to studying the causes of civil conflict, with an emphasis on how economic development, food security, epidemics, and environmental pressures shape local and global patterns of political violence. My methodological interests include geospatial analysis, econometric approaches, mixed and combined methods, and event data. My research attracted the support of the U.S. National Science Foundation, the British Government, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the Dickey Center at Dartmouth College, and the United States Institute of Peace, among others. I am also the inaugural recipient of the International Studies Association – Peace Studies Section’s Emerging Scholar Award (2023).

My work has appeared or is forthcoming in multiple academic journals in agricultural economics and food policy, conflict analysis, political science and international relations, and environmental science, and has been mentioned in policy outlets such as Foreign Policy, Barron’s, The Conversation, and NPR. My book, Climate Adaptation and Conflict Mitigation: The Case of South Sudan (Cambridge University Press, 2025), examines the multifaceted relationship between interventions designed to improve climate change adaptation and food security on civil war and social conflict. My first book, The Politics of Mass Killing in Autocratic Regimes (coauthored with Bumba Mukherjee), which was published in June 2018, explains when and where food shortages can lead to mass killing within nondemoratic states. I have consulted on these issues for various official and nongovernmental organizations, including, among others, the United Nations (Office of Internal Oversight Services and International Organization on Migration), MerciCorps, and the Stimson Center.

This website contains information about my research and teaching. My Google Scholar profile can be found here. My linkedin profile can be accessed here. My ORCID profile is 0000-0001-9011-1510.
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My CV.

Last updated: February 24, 2025.