I am a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University. Previously, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at The Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University. My research bridges comparative politics, international relations, and public policy to examine how public institutions function under conditions of foreign intervention, weak legitimacy, and uneven development. Drawing on fieldwork in multiple countries across Africa, Latin America, and Asia, my work combines surveys, survey experiments, interviews, and administrative data to study the incentives of bureaucrats, the resilience of civil society, and the agency of refugees. My research speaks to current debates on international influence, postcolonial legacies, state capacity, and citizen trust. It is guided by a core normative concern: how to build states that are legitimate, equitable, and effective, particularly in developing countries.

I hold a joint PhD in Public Policy and Political Science from Duke University, an MA in International Economic Policy from Sciences Po, and a BA in Commerce from Makerere University. Before joining graduate school, I was a Lecturer at Makerere University Business School and a Research Associate at the Economic Policy Research Centre in Kampala, Uganda. I have also been a consultant with the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, Canada, a visiting researcher at the BRICS Policy Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a visiting scholar at the University of Colorado, Denver’s School of Public Affairs.