My doctoral research examined international development policy and foreign aid effectiveness in fragile and conflict-affected contexts through the lens of social capital and network theory. Focusing on Afghanistan and Pakistan, the project explored how relationships among donor agencies, implementing partners, and community organizations influence foreign aid delivery and long-term development outcomes. This research explored the conditions in which development policy networks can successfully and sustainably impact vulnerable, rural, and conflict areas. It determined whether inherent structural properties from global development networks create limitations for sustainable locally-owned development processes and outcomes.
My primary concern is to examine how material and/or non-material exchanges among social/organizational networks of donor agencies and recipient organizations help or hinder potential aid-delivery processes in fragile and conflict-afflicted environments. A conceptual and methodological framework of social capital theory, social network analysis, and qualitative comparative analysis analyzes stakeholder relationships within active rural development programs. The research raised questions about who benefits from foreign aid, who controls the terms of development, and how external actors interact with local institutions and communities. The conceptual and methodological contributions also hold relevance for other fragile contexts across the Global South.
At the post-PhD stage, I have broadened this work into a multi-year research agenda that examines the politics of foreign aid, global inequality, gender justice, localization, and sovereignty in fragile and conflict-affected spaces. I am especially interested in how development interventions intersect with race, colonial legacies, and humanitarian governance, and how these forces are negotiated by states, communities, and women in conflict settings. While my dissertation focused on South Asia, my current work extends to comparative cases across the Middle East, Africa, and other regions of the Global South.
A core throughline across my research is the study of global inequality – how it is reproduced, contested, or quietly reinforced through development policy, donor-recipient relationships, humanitarian assistance, and discourses of “reconstruction” and “reform.” I also examine forms of agency, resilience, and alternative knowledge systems that arise within (and sometimes against) these global arrangements.
Alongside these substantive interests, I maintain a strong commitment to qualitative inquiry, comparative research, and network-based methods, as well as reflexive and ethical research practices. I am equally invested in evidence-based inclusive pedagogy, trauma-informed approaches to teaching and research, and public scholarship that bridges academic insights with broader conversations about belonging, mental health, and social justice.
Collectively, my research agenda spans five interrelated camps:
Summary of Research Specializations, Methods, and Inquiries
Governance, Localization & Development Policy: Governance and comparative politics in fragile and conflict-affected states; political economy of development; networked governance; foreign aid; localization; humanitarian intervention; state–society relations in the Global South, with regional expertise in South Asia (Pakistan, Afghanistan) and MENA.
Conflict, Social Capital & Community Resilience: Conflict, fragility, and post-conflict governance; social capital and community-based institutions; resilience and collective action in fragile contexts; comparative analysis of community-driven development and local governance systems.
Human Development, Inequality & Gender Justice: Human development outcomes linked to health, education, dignity, freedom, and security; gender, inequality, human rights, and justice in fragile and conflict-affected contexts; women’s agency in development and peacebuilding processes.
Research Methods, Reflexivity & Inclusive Pedagogy: Qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, and network-based research; fieldwork and comparative case studies; social network analysis; reflexive and ethical research design; inclusive, trauma-informed pedagogy; public scholarship bridging academic research and policy practice.
As an interdisciplinary independent postdoctoral scholar, I maintain an active publication pipeline across multiple projects on foreign aid, gender justice, pedagogy, and Global South politics.
Please see Publications Page for details.
Recent Poster presented at PolNet and APSA 2025:
