I am a Research Associate at the Overseas Development Institute and a PhD candidate at the London School of Economics. My PhD is on the militarisation of Niger and state legitimacy. Over the last 1.5 I have carried out in-depth field research on Nigeriens' perception of foreign military presence, counter insurgency practice and the state. Before starting my PhD, I was a Research Fellow at ODI where I led multi-country research on the link between services and state legitimacy for DFID. I have also experience in researching the social impact of mining in conflict-affected regions.
PUBLICATIONS
Policy Advice and Academic Papers
2019
WHEN RISING TEMPERATURES DO NOT LEAD TO RISING TEMPERS
January 2016
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF VOTER ENGAGEMENT IN NIGER
This briefing informed USAID Niger's 5-year governance programme and was written in collaboration with Abdoutan Harouna and Hamani Oumarou from LASDEL. Researched with Zahra Djingarey, Idi Mamadou Maman Noura, Sadjo Aissa and Kabo Abdouramane.
This research, carried out in October 2016, examined why people become radicalised in Agadez, Niger. We conceptualised radicalisation as a dynamic process, where individual and structural factors interact to produce the potential for radicalisation. The research was carried out for the Office of Transition Initiatives to inform their Community Cohesion Programme. Also available in French. Written with Mareike Schomerus and Abdoutan Harouna and researched with Zahra Djingerey, Idi Mamadou Maman Noura, Hamissou Rhissa, Raichata Rhissa, Zakari Maikorema and Kabo Abdouramane.
2017
ARE PUBLIC SERVICES THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF STATE LEGITIMACY?
This is a background paper to the 2017 World Bank World Development Report. How do political actors gain the trust, confidence and consent of those they seek to rule? One prominent argument holds that the provision of public services is a key building block of state legitimacy – an argument that heavily influences development programming, particularly in countries affected by fragility, conflict and violence. This paper presents empirical evidence from survey and qualitative case study data on the relationship between people’s experiences of service delivery and their perceptions of government from eight conflict-affected countries. The evidence demonstrates that, contrary to the dominant discourse, there is no clear linear relationship between people’s access to services and their perceptions of state actors. Instead, legitimacy appears to be linked to both performance (what is being delivered) and process (how it is being done), as well as shifting norms, expectations and experiences of service delivery. Written with Hamish Nixon and Richard Mallett
2019
WHY SERVICES WON'T BUY LEGITIMACY: EVERYDAY EXPERIENCES OF THE STATE IN SWAT, PAKISTAN
This paper is part of a 3 part series on how people imagine and experience the state in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. We carried out field research in Swat, Pakistan between May and October 2018. We then used historical records to construct a political settlement analysis and used this to interpret the primary data. The field research was done by Shehryar Toru, Rubab Syed and Shujaat Ahmed
This report summarizes a series of case studies and findings from a panel survey that was carried out 2017-2019 as part of the Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium. The research sought to understand why access to services did not necessarily lead to improved perceptions of legitimacy. The research spanned four countries: Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Uganda.
There are often assumptions made about the role of climate change impacts in aggravating insecurity in the Sahel. In this report, we investigate those assumptions by focusing on the increasing insecurity in northern Niger. We carried out life histories with 29 smugglers of people, drugs and arms to find out what factors influenced them to take up smuggling. We find that, rather than being a recent trend, a major shift out of pastoralism occurred during the smugglers’ fathers’ generation. The life history data also shows that most smugglers were attracted to the smuggling industry, not out of desperation to escape desertification and resource scarcity, but because of the potential to earn substantially more than what they were earning as day-labourers at the mines, or as gardeners, mechanics or motorcyclists. Our findings show how global politics interact with trading practices and corruptible state officials to produce a political economy that incentivises young people to become smugglers.
December 2017
GATEKEEPERS, ELDERS AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN SOMALIA
The report features a discussion of the opportunities and challenges in improving accountability in Somali governance through working with non-state actors. The lessons are drawn from three projects implemented through the Implementation and Analysis in Action of Accountability Programme (IAAAP), funded by the UK Department for International Development. Written with Muhyadin Saed.
2021
SOMALIA, FRAGMENTED HYBRID GOVERNANCE AND INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT
This co-authored chapter explores the possibility for international agencies to work with non-state actors to improve accountability given the nature of hybrid fragmented governance in Somalia. Written with Eric Herring, Muhyadin Saed and Latif Ismail. Forthcoming in "Hybrid Governance and Limited Statehood in the Middle East and Africa" published by Routledge.
2016
WOMEN AND POWER SHAPING THE DEVELOPMENT OF KENYA'S 2010 CONSTITUTION
This study focuses on the role of Kenyan women and gender activists in shaping the 2010 constitutional reform process in Kenya and the outcomes of this in relation to advancing gender equality and a women's rights agenda. It forms part of a series of case studies on Women and Power published by ODI. Written with Pilar Domingo. Researched with Bernadette Wanjala and Florence Simbiri.
2017
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT POLITICS
This opinion piece, published in the Journal 'The Extractive Industries and Society, highlights the ineffectiveness of Environmental and Impact Assessments (EIA) in developing countries and the faults in current analysis of why this is the case. I draw on political economy literature to propose alternative explanations. When political economy theories are applied, it becomes clearer why the possibility for effective implementation of EIA in many developing countries is low. This raises many questions about the potential for EIA to facilitate the management of the negative impacts of extractives in developing countries.
2017
UNDERSTANDING TRAJECTORIES OF RADICALISATION IN AGADEZ, NIGER
TRAINING EXPERIENCE
July 2015
USING POLITICAL ECONOMY ANALYSIS IN PROGRAMME PLANNING
Provided training to Christian Aid's national partners who were working to design a family planning programme.
June 2012
CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND POST CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION
Developed and delivered a five-day course with James Fennell for the International Centre for Parliamentary Studies. The course was tailored to meet the needs of professionals working on conflict, including government officials from DRC, Liberia and governance advisors from the EU.
March 2019
USING POLITICAL ECONOMY ANALYSIS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRY STRATEGIES
As part of a team of four, I provided training to the Agence Francaise de Developpement on commissioning and using political economy analyses in designing country strategies. This training was based on my practical experience of delivering political economy analysis to USAID
