I am an Assistant Professor of International Relations in the Department of Political Science at the University of Miami.
I hold a PhD in Political Science from Columbia University and an MA in Strategic Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). In 2015-16 I was Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Princeton University’s Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance.
My research interests cover a broad range of topics at the intersection between International Relations, Security Studies, and Comparative Politics: civil war dynamics (in particular infighting and cooperation among rebel groups), counterinsurgency, ethnic conflict, religion and violence, civilian victimization and terrorism, non-violent resistance, natural resources and state-minority disputes, coercion and the implications of the psychology of emotions for coercive bargaining.
My book, Conflict Among Rebels: Why Insurgent Groups Fight Each Other (Columbia University Press), explains why and under what circumstances rebel groups pitted against a common enemy (the government) fight one other. [get it at a 20% discount with the promo code CUP20 at https://cup.columbia.edu/book/conflict-among-rebels/9780231198677%5D
My academic pieces have been published in Security Studies, International Security, Journal of Peace Research, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Middle East Policy, Parameters, African Security Review, and The International Spectator. I wrote opinion and policy pieces for the blogs of The National Interest, The Washington Post, and Vox.
I previously worked as research analyst at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and at the World Bank’s Development Economics Research Group in Washington, DC.
I was born and raised in Italy, where I lived until I graduated from college. In my free time I spearfish and hit tennis balls.
