Welcome! I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the University of Kent’s School of Politics and International Relations. My research interests lie in authoritarian politics and nationalism, focussing on China. 

My work explores how international efforts to change a regime's behaviour influence domestic politics and public opinion, and the causes and consequences of rises in authoritarian and nationalist sentiment. My recent book examines how the Chinese Communist Party strategically manages foreign pressure on its human rights. It shines a light on how authoritarian regimes have learnt to manipulate and resist foreign pressure, and illustrates how support for authoritarian and nationalist policies might grow in the face of a liberal international system. Some of my other work is published in Comparative Political Studies, International Studies Quarterly, Democratization, and Security Studies. 

I am currently working on a two-year project on Resistance to Great Powers in the Global South, funded by a European Research Council Starting Grant.

I am open to supervising PhD students in areas related to China’s international relations and politics, authoritarianism, the politics of human rights, and nationalism.

I received a PhD in Security Studies from Princeton (2017), MSc in African Studies from Oxford (2008) and BA in Psychology with Philosophy from Oxford (2006).