Research
I’m interested in the microdynamics of conflict and state-building in central Africa. As of March 2012, I’m updating my recent work, and will upload it shortly.
Working Papers
“Mechanisms of Ethnic Reconciliation in Post-Conflict Burundi.” Burundi has enjoyed a fragile peace since 2005, when a consociational agreement between Hutu and Tutsi combatants drew a 12-year civil war to a close. Scholarship on the country’s perceived ethnic detente has tended to focus on the mechanisms underlying reconciliation among either “ordinary” Burundians or elite political actors, with little attention paid to potential connections between these levels of analysis. Understanding the role of the political “missing middle” in mediating connections between ordinary and elite political actors would advance scholarly knowledge about the mechanics by which post-conflict reconciliation may occur under consociationalism.
“The Political Economy of Rwanda’s Anti-Corruption Campaign.” Rwanda has garnered considerable praise from the development community for its success in fighting corruption. This narrative can be seen as an example of a broader discourse about standards of good governance which largely ignores the politics of enacting governance reforms. In this paper, I summarize evidence that the Rwandan government has also used anti-corruption reforms to remove political opponents from power, and identify the need for greater attention to the political economy of governance reforms among development practitioners.
Policy Briefs
“The Expected Utility of Rebellion: Laurent Nkunda and the Military Integration of the Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple.” Summary of Nkunda’s career, and analysis of the multiple unsuccessful attempts which were made to integrate the CNDP and its predecessor organizations into the Congolese military, before Nkunda’s January 2009 arrest and replacement by Bosco Ntaganda facilitated CNDP integration.
