I am an assistant professor of Comparative Politics in the Department of Political Science and the International Studies Program at West Virginia University. I received my Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. My research and teaching interests include conflict studies, African politics and transitional justice.
My current work focuses on transitional justice in post-conflict countries. I research the ways that justice can be used for good or for evil through political consolidation, political exclusion, social reconciliation, narrative construction and for economic gain.
I have looked at these issues in East Africa, primarily Rwanda and Uganda, but also Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa. To explore justice in post-conflict democracies, I have conducted field work in Northern Ireland.
My ongoing data project on the presence of transitional justice during conflict is being funded by the National Science Foundation SES#1227985.