I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the Glendon Campus of York University. I am a member of both the Graduate Program in Sociology and the Master’s in Public and International Affairs Program, and an Associate Editor of the Canadian Review of Sociology. In 2019-2020, I was a Visiting Scholar at Massey College, University of Toronto.

Originally from Alberta, I joined York University via Montreal, where I completed my MA and PhD in Sociology at McGill University, followed by a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Université de Montréal, jointly held between the Department of Political Science and CÉRIUM (the Centre for International Studies). My primary areas of research interest are political sociology, violence and development, with a focus on state legitimacy, political and social trust, democracy and the rule of law. I have pursued an empirical and cross-national research agenda in these fields that draws upon both quantitative and comparative historical methods. This research has been published in various sociology and social science journals, including the British Journal of Sociology, Social Forces, Social Science History, World Development and Nationalism and Ethnic Politics.