As a scholar-practitioner, her research and teaching bridge International Relations (IR) and Comparative Politics with specific interests in contentious politics, dynamics of war, gender and security, and field research ethics in Sub-Saharan Africa. She holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from American University (2013), and is currently researching a new project on women’s agency in warfare. The project is a case study of female combatants in Namibia’s war of independence.