My research focuses on peace and conflict processes in sub-Saharan African countries. As a researcher, I have the opportunity to ask the questions policymakers and practitioners may not have time for, but that will strongly affect their success. Understanding why armed groups survive and become resilient; and, conversely, how combatants and civilians rebuild their lives and communities after wars end are central to strengthening peaceful communities in conflict-affected countries

In my current work, I’m particularly interested in understanding social relationships and structures that are not accounted for in most randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or impact evaluations. I use mixed methods – interviews, archival research, and surveys – to access perspectives and experiences that often get glossed over in research on conflict and development. Listening to people’s first-hand accounts of life in armed groups and impoverished post-conflict settings not only helps humanize problems, but it illuminates questions we should be asking.

Examining social networks enables us to map and measure interpersonal and group-level relationships that affect everything from trust and community cohesion, to information and technology diffusion. For example, through my research in Sierra Leone I learned how important gatekeepers and brokers can be for building trust or spreading information. Post-conflict peacebuilding programs need to better harness existing social ties and community-level networks. Development practitioners can use these insights when they adapt programs for a new context by thinking carefully about whom they work with and how that facilitates or constrains the inclusion of other individuals and groups.