I am a political scientist who studies the informational and behavioral foundations of democratic life in the United States. My research agenda brings political communication and political behavior into a common framework. I ask how media systems, digital platforms and emerging technologies determine which speakers and claims gain visibility and authority; how citizens’ identities, emotions, relationships and psychological dispositions shape what they seek out and how they respond; and when these forces sustain or erode democratic restraints. My primary focus is the health of US democracy. Selective comparative research helps me distinguish vulnerabilities rooted in American institutions from mechanisms that recur across democracies.

Some of my projects begin with communication: political information environments, the different publics platforms assemble, the political relationships cultivated by social media influencers, and the ways AI reorganizes interactions between citizens and institutions. Others begin with citizens: from the way personality differences shape illiberal aspirations in the American public to democratic resentment, extremism and tolerance for political violence. I treat neither information environments nor individual predispositions as background. The central problem is what happens when they meet and why similar conditions produce sharply different responses across publics.

I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Communication and Media Research (IKMZ) at the University of Zurich, and a Science Affiliate with the International Panel on the Information Environment. Before joining IKMZ, I was an Assistant Professor of American Politics at California State University, Dominguez Hills. A Fulbright scholarship first brought me to the United States, where I earned my PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2024.

My research has appeared in Political Communication, the International Journal of Press/Politics, the Journal of Information Technology & Politics, and Computational Communication Research. Beyond academia, I regularly contribute expert analysis on American politics, political behavior, media, elections, and democratic erosion to international outlets like The New York Times, ABC News, Bloomberg, Le Monde, FRANCE 24, Radio-Canada and Radio Télévision Suisse.

When I'm away from work, I enjoy spending time with my dog Jack.