Welcome!

I am a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of North Dakota. I received my PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a Doctoral Emphasis in Global Studies.

My research explores international political economy, maritime security, and development, with a regional focus on China and Africa. I am particularly interested in how trade, investment, and infrastructure shape relations between states and influence economic and political outcomes in the Global South. Several years of traveling and working around the world helped inspire these interests and continue to inform my approach to research and teaching.

My dissertation, “Chinese Economic Engagement in Africa and West African Maritime Ports,” examines China’s involvement in port development through qualitative and quantitative research, including fieldwork in Ghana, Benin, Togo, and Côte d’Ivoire. This research forms the foundation of my broader work on the relationship between commercial engagement and political influence. My work has been cited in reports by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

My wider research interests include international sanctions, currency competition, globalization, inequality, and comparative political economy. At UND, I teach courses in comparative politics and global studies.

My research and commentary have appeared in outlets including International Politics, The African Review, Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, Journal of Asian and African Studies, The International Review of Economics, and The Diplomat. My research has also received support through the Boren Fellowship, the Mercatus Center’s Gordon Tullock, Carl Menger, and Adam Smith fellowships, and a Graduate Fellowship at UCSB’s Orfalea Center for Global & International Studies.