Research Topic: My research investigates the politics of agrarian change in Myanmar, in particular the role of state building aspirations among minority ethnic groups, legal land regimes, conservation & resource conflicts. My broader interests lie in environmental politics, animism, development and militarism, and how these intersect with processes of state formation and nationalism. I work primarily alongside Karen peoples in highland areas of Southeastern Myanmar which have been home to one of the worlds longest civil wars.
I am also a photographer and film-maker, and have conducted ethnographic work and photographic projects in countries including Nepal, Myanmar, Bolivia, South Africa, Canada and the UK. Alongside this I have published in several news outlets including the Diplomat, LSE Review of Books and New Naratif.
My thesis is funded by the Leverhulme Trust, RAI and the Wenner-Gren Foundation.
Supervisors: Professor Katy Gardner and Dr Hans Steinmüller
Academic CV