Hello! I am the Director of the Master's program in International Policy Management and a full Professor in the School of Government and International Affairs at Kennesaw State University. I also teach courses and mentor Ph.D. students in the Ph.D. program in International Conflict Management.

I grew up in Bombay, an island city and a bustling metropolis, in the heart of its historic fishing district. I am made up of strong hydrophilic molecules, made very happy by the smell of the ocean and the sound of waves. I am very curious about the world we inhabit and the people in it. I am likely to be caught discussing subjects that include digital SLR photography, world politics, Bourdain's last adventures in misanthropy around the world and the food of many peoples. I really enjoy travel and try to visit one new place each year. I love the process of learning to see the world through new eyes. Sometimes going between countries feels a lot like traveling across time.

I study internal conflict processes, an area that lies at the intersection of comparative politics and international relations. I have studied dissent (violent and nonviolent) and state repression/human rights violations in democratic and authoritarian contexts. I have a book chapter and publications explaining dissent in the Journal of Conflict Resolution (2011), Terrorism and Political Violence (2013) and the British Journal of Political Science (2014), one focusing on state repression around elections in authoritarian regimes in Electoral Studies (2013). I am also fascinated by democratic and authoritarian institutions and public perception of and participation in the same. I have a co-authored paper on ethnic minorities and confidence in Turkish institutions published in the Journal of Turkish Studies (2018). As evident in my publications, I use both quantitative and qualitative methods in my own work and teach graduate and undergraduate courses in the Principles of Research Design and Qualitative Methods. I would love to teach a course on mixed methods that walks graduate students through different types of research designs that combine quantitative, qualitative and/or formal methods.

SUBSTANTIVE AREAS OF INTEREST:
Identity, Political Participation, Political Dissent, Autonomy/Separatist Movements, Human Rights, Comparative Political Institutions, Electoral Systems, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and DEI in the academy and beyond
REGIONAL AREAS OF INTEREST:
Primary: South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka)
Secondary: Middle East

If you have questions, please contact me at [email protected].