I am a Professor of Comparative Politics and currently serve as Deputy Head of School (Education) in the School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA) at the University of Durham. I am a member of the Centre for Institutions and Political Behavior (CIPB) and during the academic year 2021/22 served as its Director.
I hold a lic. phil. I degree in Political Science from the University of Zurich (2005), an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Rochester (2009), and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Rochester (2014). Before joining Durham, I was a Lecturer in Public and International Affairs at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (2013-14) and a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Empirical Studies of Conflict (ESOC) Project at Princeton University (2012-14). Between 2016 and 2019 I was also a part-time Lecturer at ETH Zurich's Institute for Science, Technology, and Policy.
I specialize in Comparative Political Economy, with a special interest in the relationship between democratic institutions, economic development, and political violence. My dissertation examined the causes and dynamics of electoral violence.
My current projects focus on the causes and consequences of electoral violence in 19th century England and Wales, the political economy of development and conflict, and survey methodology. For more details on the projects I am currently working on, please visit the CIPB's research project webpage and this website's working papers section.
Download a copy of my CV here.