I am an Associate Professor in the Political Science Department at Georgia State University.
My research explores the role of the state in violent armed conflict and organized crime and the effects of international security assistance and peacebuilding programs. I have ongoing research projects that focus on civil war and peacebuilding, international security assistance, civil-military relations, security and justice reform, urban violence, and transnational organized crime.
My book, Governing Security After War: The Politics of Institutional Change in the Security Sector (Oxford University Press, 2022) explores the politics of peace and state building after civil war, through an examination of efforts to restructure military and police forces. It shows how the political calculations leaders make to stay in power affect decisions to politicize or professionalize security forces. In the book and follow-on work, I explore the implications of my theory of postwar politics for the effectiveness of foreign aid and security assistance in conflict-affected countries; examine how security sector reform affects the risk of civil war recurrence; and investigate the effects of UN Peacekeeping Missions and U.S. Security Assistance on security governance in conflict-affected countries.
More recently, I have examined the effects of international security assistance, focusing on how military training and material support interact with civil-military institutions to affect the potential for influence and cooperation, and the implications for armed conflict, security, and human rights. I am especially interested in the institutional politics of civil-military relations - the ways in which defense and security oversight institutions reflect political interests, and the implications for international interactions.
Through another research project, I examine the political dimensions of policing and organized criminal violence in weak and conflict-affected states. Through research in Honduras and Colombia, I have examined how criminal organizations use violence to control territory and markets, how they interact with politicians to mobilize electoral support, how community organizations affect crime rates, and how public views of police change in response to evolving insecurity. I am currently working on research on the causes of violence and the effects of policing in areas affected by the civil war in Colombia.
My research uses quantitative and qualitative methods, including statistical analysis of cross-national and sub-national data as well as ethnographic methods. I have conducted fieldwork in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Timor-Leste, Honduras, Haiti, and Colombia.
I have also contributed to international development and peacebuilding programs through full-time and consulting experience with The World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. State Department, the U.N. Development Program, the International Organization for Migration, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. Following ten years managing and evaluating development programs, my work has focused more recently on evidence-based approaches to addressing security and justice challenges through research, political analysis, program design, and evaluation.
I have been a Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and at the U.S. Institute of Peace. I have also served as an adviser to the World Bank’s Justice for the Poor program, and I was a Presidential Management Fellow and Rule of Law Adviser for the U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. State Department. I have worked with Search for Common Ground on peace building and conflict resolution, and for Seeds of Peace, a program focused on training youth leaders from conflict-torn countries.
I received my B.A. from Brown University, an MPA from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, and my PhD in Government from Georgetown University.
My research explores the role of the state in violent armed conflict and organized crime and the effects of international security assistance and peacebuilding programs. I have ongoing research projects that focus on civil war and peacebuilding, international security assistance, civil-military relations, security and justice reform, urban violence, and transnational organized crime.
My book, Governing Security After War: The Politics of Institutional Change in the Security Sector (Oxford University Press, 2022) explores the politics of peace and state building after civil war, through an examination of efforts to restructure military and police forces. It shows how the political calculations leaders make to stay in power affect decisions to politicize or professionalize security forces. In the book and follow-on work, I explore the implications of my theory of postwar politics for the effectiveness of foreign aid and security assistance in conflict-affected countries; examine how security sector reform affects the risk of civil war recurrence; and investigate the effects of UN Peacekeeping Missions and U.S. Security Assistance on security governance in conflict-affected countries.
More recently, I have examined the effects of international security assistance, focusing on how military training and material support interact with civil-military institutions to affect the potential for influence and cooperation, and the implications for armed conflict, security, and human rights. I am especially interested in the institutional politics of civil-military relations - the ways in which defense and security oversight institutions reflect political interests, and the implications for international interactions.
Through another research project, I examine the political dimensions of policing and organized criminal violence in weak and conflict-affected states. Through research in Honduras and Colombia, I have examined how criminal organizations use violence to control territory and markets, how they interact with politicians to mobilize electoral support, how community organizations affect crime rates, and how public views of police change in response to evolving insecurity. I am currently working on research on the causes of violence and the effects of policing in areas affected by the civil war in Colombia.
My research uses quantitative and qualitative methods, including statistical analysis of cross-national and sub-national data as well as ethnographic methods. I have conducted fieldwork in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Timor-Leste, Honduras, Haiti, and Colombia.
I have also contributed to international development and peacebuilding programs through full-time and consulting experience with The World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. State Department, the U.N. Development Program, the International Organization for Migration, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. Following ten years managing and evaluating development programs, my work has focused more recently on evidence-based approaches to addressing security and justice challenges through research, political analysis, program design, and evaluation.
I have been a Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and at the U.S. Institute of Peace. I have also served as an adviser to the World Bank’s Justice for the Poor program, and I was a Presidential Management Fellow and Rule of Law Adviser for the U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. State Department. I have worked with Search for Common Ground on peace building and conflict resolution, and for Seeds of Peace, a program focused on training youth leaders from conflict-torn countries.
I received my B.A. from Brown University, an MPA from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, and my PhD in Government from Georgetown University.