Overview 
My research focuses on the relationship between political institutions, conflict, and identity politics, with a particular interest in how institutional settings shape the trajectories and outcomes of political transformations. I employ a range of primarily qualitative methodological approaches—from ethnographic fieldwork, participant observation, archival analysis, and comparative historical analysis—in my work. My research has been funded by the Oxford International Seed Fund, the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, the Oxford-Burma Visiting Fund, and Cumberland Lodge, among other institutions. 

Dissertation 
My doctoral project examined the impact of the 2017 Rohingya refugee crisis on majority-minority relations in Bangladesh. It investigated how ethnoreligious minority groups, through their civic institutions, respond to intercommunal tensions and navigate security and social challenges induced by refugee movements. I use comparative historical analysis and ethnographic fieldwork among minority groups in Bangladesh to capture variation in intergroup relations and crisis response strategies.

Current Research
I am developing a broader comparative research agenda on how political institutions structure contentious politics and shape the emergence and transformation of political violence. One strand of this research examines electoral competition and democratic transformation in Bangladesh. A second strand focuses on political mobilisation within contested institutional environments, including ongoing work on party networks and political participation among both established political parties (e.g., Islamist parties) and marginalised groups (e.g. the Rohingya refugees). Extending beyond a single-country focus, another project examines how violent political orders persist and are reconfigured within democratic institutions following moments of political rupture. Focusing on Bangladesh, Nepal and Kenya, this work examines how different forms of institutional reordering—abrupt and incremental—shape patterns of electoral competition, minority politics, and political violence. 

Fieldwork
I have conducted fieldwork in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and the UK (London).