About

What makes foreign aid effective at helping countries develop? Under what conditions does foreign aid shape democratic change abroad? What role do international organizations and their member states play in setting best practices on how to do international development? These are  substantive questions that motivate my research in international and comparative political economy, democratization, and development.

I am Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Before I was Senior Lecturer of Government and Director of ESSEXLab at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom from 2015 to 2017. From 2012 to 2015 I was Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Missouri, Columbia. At Mizzou, I also held an Appointment at the Truman School of Public Affairs. From 2011 to 2012 I was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University. I received my Ph.D. in Political Science at Penn StateUniversity in 2011. My research is published or forthcoming in International Organization, Journal of Politics, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Experimental Political Science, Review of International Organizations, Research and Politics, World Development, European Journal of International Relations, European Journal of Development Research, and Cambridge and Oxford University Press.

Here is a recent podcast In Pursuit of Development on my foreign aid research.

My approach to studying research questions is based on a multi-methods approach. I employ cross-country time series analysis, individual-level survey data, field and survey experiments, as well as text analysis methods. I also rely on insights generated by case study analysis and extensive, open-ended interviews with foreign aid elites and aid beneficiaries. I believe it is important to leverage different types of data to test substantively interesting research questions. A multi-methods approach not only strengthens confidence in the claims we make but also opens my research to a wider audience of quantitative and qualitative scholars as well as policy-makers.

My work directly builds on insights gained through field work in international development, while working for non-governmental and international organizations. My field journey took me through the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Central Asia over a period of three years. Prior to that, I studied political science as a graduate student, receiving a M.A. from Wayne State (Detroit). The University of Munich and the University of Padova are the universities I attended as an undergraduate.

If you want to learn more about my research, foreign aid, or tips for students, here is a podcast episode produced by University of Geneva international relations undergraduates.