I am a Ph.D. Candidate in political science at the University of Chicago studying the connection between democratic accountability, foreign policymaking, and international security. I am writing my dissertation on how leaders shape foreign policymaking institutions, rules, and norms to achieve their policy objectives despite resistance from diplomatic, military, and defense bureaucracies. I use insights from social psychology and administrative politics to show how leaders structure foreign policymaking differently when they distrust the bureaucracy’s intentions and interests due to perceived differences in their social identities.
Formerly I was a researcher at the Stimson Center’s South Asia program in Washington, DC. My commentary has been featured in Foreign Policy, The Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog, War on the Rocks, The Wire, and The Diplomat. I hold a B.S. in International Studies from Indiana University and an M.A. in political science from the University of Chicago.
