Her work primarily focuses on state to state ties and international conflict, trade and international conflict, intergovernmental organizations and international conflict, and the role of social capital in domestic conflict processes. Her work has been published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution, Comparative Political Studies, the Journal of Peace Research, International Interactions, Social Science Quarterly, Conflict Management and Peace Science, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, and the Journal of Political Science. She received her B.A. from the University of California at Davis, a Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies in International Security from the Université Pierre Mendès France, a M.A. from Claremont Graduate University in International Political Economy, and her Ph.D. in Political Science from Claremont Graduate University.