I am a PhD Candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (PhD expected 2014). My research interests include political violence, elections, land and resource-related politics, and African politics.
My dissertation examines the role of land institutions in shaping the dynamics of local-level political violence across Kenya. For more information, see Dissertation. I will be in Kenya from May 2012-May 2013 on dissertation fieldwork funded by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC/IDRF) and the National Science Foundation (NSF DDIG). Prior to Kenya, I was living in Ghana, where I worked on a project that examined how political parties bargain with local leaders and groups to mobilize electoral support, with a focus on when and why the use of coercion and low-level violence become viable political strategies (Oct 2011-May 2012).
