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I am Assistant Professor of Political Science with a focus on International Organisation and Governance at the School of Economic and Political Science (SEPS) at the University of St. Gallen. Previously, I directed the Research Area International Security, Peace and Conflict at the University of Zurich, and held postdoc positions at the GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies and the University of Oxford. I studied political science at the University of Mannheim and obtained a PhD from University College London (2017).

My research investigates repression and restrictions against civil society organizations as well as peace operations with a focus on the nexus between peacebuilding and democratisation processes at the local and national level. It has been published or is forthcoming in journals such as American Journal of Political Science, American Political Science Review, British Journal of Political Science, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Peace Research and Journal of Conflict Resolution. Much of my research has a regional focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, especially Côte d’Ivoire and the Central African Republic.

I spend a lot of time thinking about how to accurately measure what UN peace operation do on the ground. This work was awarded the 2016 Cedric Smith Prize (given every year by the Conflict Research Society) and the 2017 Dina Zinnes Award (given every year by the Scientific Study of International Processes Section of the International Studies Association). It has received funding from the Folke Bernadotte Academy and the Swedish Research Council.