About Me
My scholarship draws on more than a decade of foreign policy experience to challenge fundamental assertions in international relations about the nature of national power.
My research examines the composition of modern militaries, covert action, and interstate and intrastate conflict. My article in International Security and book project examine foreign military recruitment, and explains why modern states raise foreign legions and recruit legionnaires--soldiers who are neither citizens nor subjects of the governments they serve. For this research, I was honored to receive both the American Political Science Association award for Best International Security Article for 2022, as well as the International Studies Association Security Studies Section Best Article Award for 2022.
In addition to peer-reviewed scholarship, I have published or spoken about findings from my research in the Washington Post, War on the Rocks, and Lawfare. My scholarship has also informed analysis published in The Economist, Foreign Affairs, The Hill, and assessments by RAND.
As for the classroom, my teaching background includes courses on research methods, insurgency, the modern Middle East, and contemporary West Africa.
I hold a Ph.D. in Political Science from the George Washington University, as well as an M.A. in Arab Studies from Georgetown University and B.S. in Foreign Service, also from Georgetown University. My research languages include Arabic and French.
In addition to my government career, I have the privilege to serve as an Adjunct Professor of National Security Policy with Duke University and as a research fellow (2022-2023) with the Modern War Institute at West Point.