I am an economic historian and political economist of conflict, state formation, and systems of revenue and rule in Africa and other developing regions. My work focuses on how states are built—and unbuilt—through extractive and predatory forms of revenue generation, often rooted in the exploitation of natural resources and labour. I am currently based at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where I am both a Research Fellow and Sudans Research Director, leading research on both Sudan and South Sudan, in the Conflict & Civicness Research Group and affiliated faculty in the Department of Economic History.

My first book, Of Rule Not Revenue: Predation, State-Unbuilding, and Conflict in Sudan and South Sudan, has been formally invited for peer review by Cambridge University Press (African Studies Series), following endorsement by the series editorial board in May 2025. The full manuscript will be submitted for review between December 2025 and March 2026. The book draws on extensive fieldwork—including over 700 interviews conducted across the Sudans since 2019—and archival research spanning Sudanese, South Sudanese, British colonial archives and rebel-held collections, undertaken between 2014 and 2024.

My book project, on-going research, and publications examine how revenue-raising practices in Sudan and South Sudan—from Ottoman rule, through British-led occupation, postcolonial governance, rebel administration, to the present—have contributed to the formation of states that serve narrow elite interests rather than broader publics. These projects explore the linkages between historic revenue patterns and peacemaking, warmaking, and state-building and enduring patterns of predation. I am also researching popular narratives of civicness (or medania) and economic reform during Sudan's democratic transition and hoped for shift from war to peace. My work has been published in Comparative Studies in Society and History and the Journal of International Development and other outlets.

I am co-editing a forthcoming special issue on global fragmentation for the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding. I also lead research on the ethical challenges and emerging methodologies for working with in-country civic research networks across the LSE CCRG’s focus countries, including Sudan, South Sudan, Ukraine, Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, and beyond.

My academic work is grounded in a nearly 20-year professional background that bridges research, policy, and operations. I have held posts in Sudan with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and South Sudan with Crown Agents, and have worked with the World Bank, the Rift Valley Institute (RVI), the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and Oxfam America on governance, service delivery, and post-conflict transitions.

I have taught MSc and BA courses on African Economic History, African Political Economy, African History, and how governments, donors, NGOs, and other actors manage public services in low- and middle-income countries at the LSE, Durham University, and the IDS at the University of Sussex.

My PhD in History (ESRC-funded) and MA in Economic and Social History are both from Durham University. I also hold an MA in Governance and Development from the IDS at the University of Sussex, and a BA in International Relations from Tufts University.

In addition to my academic work, I serve as the Editorial Director for Boy Brother Friend, a print publication and digital platform examining contemporary art, fashion, and social theory.