I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations and a core member of the Connected_Politics Lab at University College Dublin. My research focuses on international relations, with an emphasis on alliance politics and the political economy of security. In my work, I explore three puzzles; whether democracy is a foreign policy advantage, the financial burdens and benefits of alliances, and whether aggressive actions provoke or intimidate. Several other working papers examine the political economy of intra-state conflict. My work is published in International Studies Quarterly, The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Research & Politics, Security Studies, International Interactions and two edited volumes. I have also written for The Irish Independent, E-International Relations and The National Interest.
I received a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in 2020, and hold a bachelor of arts from Gettysburg College (2015). Before joining UCD, I was a Postdoctoral Research Associate with the Democratic Statecraft Lab and Department of Politics at the University of Virginia.