Welcome! I am an Associate Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, where I am the Director of Undergraduate Studies, and a senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council. I received my PhD in Political Science from the University of Chicago. My research generally focuses on International Relations, Nationalism, International Security, and South Asia.  

My first book, Secession and Security: Explaining State Strategy Against Separatists (Cornell University Press), won the 2019 Best Book award from International Security Studies Section of the International Studies Association. My journal articles have appeared in International Organization, Journal of Global Security Studies, Security Studies, Journal of Strategic Studies, and Politics and Religion. Aside from my peer-reviewed scholarship, my writing has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, The Journal of Democracy, The National Interest, Dawn, Foreign Policy, and Al Jazeera, while my opinions have been quoted by outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC, CNN, and Vox. 

Between 2020 and 2023, I served as Associate Editor at Security Studies. I am currently writing my second book, The Lies That Bind Us: Nationalism and History Education.