Biography
I am Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations, and Programme Convenor of the Master of International Relations (MAIR) at UNSW. I research topics in critical peace/security studies including, political order and violence, international intervention, war-to-peace transition, rebel governance, and the political economy of statebuilding and peacebuilding in 'fragile' and deeply divided states and societies. My research has been funded by the European Commission's Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions programme, UN Development Programme and UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United States Institute of Peace, Australian Aid, and even Facebook. My research is applied and outcome oriented, and has contributed to significant transformative and positive change in South / Southwest Asia and beyond. For example, my research on democracy promotion informed the Afghanistan Independent Election Commission's election reform efforts (between 2014 and 2019 I was appointed international election observer by the IEC). Similarly, my research on statebuilding informed the United Nations Development Programme's reconstruction efforts in Mosul, Iraq. More recently, my research on the racialization of drone warfare is informing the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent's expert work on Human Rights in Africa. To learn more about my research agenda and research projects, see the Research Activities section on this profile page.