Photo: My research assistant Hillary Ahomugisha with me at the source of the Nile in Uganda. If you're looking for an outstanding RA, translator, or fixer in Uganda or Bosnia, contact me and I'll put you in touch!

Research Goals & Bio

My reason for becoming a political scientist is to figure out how to prevent genocide and mass atrocities. Over the course of my career, I aim to produce policy-relevant research on what actually prevents such violence and persuade governments and organizations to put it to use. Because people, states, and armed groups everywhere are embedded in networks of rivalries and alliances, friendships and patronage, I have chosen to specialize in using network analysis to better understand conflict. As a mixed-methods researcher, I seek to develop:

Approaches to qualitative fieldwork in conflict areas that respect the dignity and well-being of respondents and empower local staff
Statistical techniques and experiments to causally identify network spillover effects
Improved network survey designs and questions
Approaches to authorship that elevate the voices of researchers from the places I work