I am a Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Melbourne, teaching and researching in the fields of global conflict, international political economy, geopolitics and economic security. My forthcoming book, Diaspora Inc.: The Political Economy and Perils of Diaspora Statecraft and Nativist Conflict in Global Somalia and Beyond (online open access March 2027), analyses how diaspora capture of homeland affairs contributes to state fragility and social crisis. Drawing on over 10 years of fieldwork in the Middle East, Gulf and the Horn of Africa, the findings propose an antagonist relationship between diasporas and states challenging prevailing hyper-optimistic narratives around 'diasporic developmentalism' and the win-win of migration. 

My current research as a Marie Curie Global Fellow (2023-2026) studies diaspora states and variegated diaspora statecraft, developing an original typology and dataset. This project looks at how globally states are relying on their diaspora for national development and geopolitical leverage and how forms of diaspora dependency may worsen economic and political outcomes including by driving nativist conflict. It provides a novel framework for understanding how international systemic and domestic political economy factors shape diaspora statecraft and outcomes. This project seeks to better integrate diaspora into the study of global political economy and contemporary statecraft. I'm starting new  work on global talent wars with Melle Scholten.

Before joining Melbourne in 2022, I was a Postdoctoral/Teaching Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science (the LSE) from 2018-2021. I hold a DPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford awarded in 2020. I am also a Visiting Fellow at the LSE's Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa as well as a Research Associate at Clingendael: the Netherland's Institute for International Relations. I serve as an advisor to the Crisis Fragility Reference Group at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) and as a member of the International Crisis Group’s Ambassador Council. 

I have received funding for my research from the Economics and Social Research Council, World Bank, International Finance Corporation, European Union Commission, International Crisis Group, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the United States Institute of Peace. My research has been referenced in The Economist, The East African, Deutsche Welle, The Conversation, and other media.