He is a comparativist by training with a regional specialization in the Middle East. Substantively, his research agenda encompasses political Islam, authoritarian regimes and oppositions, sectarianism, and social service provision. His first book, Winning Hearts and Votes: Social Services and the Islamist Political Advantage, forthcoming with Cornell University Press in 2018, is about non-state social service provision in authoritarian regimes,with a particular emphasis on the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. His research has recently appeared in The American Political Science Review, Political Research Quarterly, and Perspectives on Politics. He holds a Ph.D from the Department of Government from the University of Texas at Austin.