I’m based at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS). I completed my PhD in Political Science at the University of Toronto. I’m a German Marshall Fund Marshall Memorial Fellow (MMF) (2025).
At IDOS, I offer policy advice to German and international stakeholders on countering digital authoritarian propaganda, based on insights from my experimental and computational research within a project team analyzing global autocratization and polarization trends. I launched a new research-based policy initiative, called Corporate Civic Responsibility in Safeguarding Democracy (#DEMCOR), which aims to map global business initiatives for democracy protection, identify with experiments what motivates firms to take action, and build AI-powered simulations to help them develop crisis protocols against democratic erosion and government overreach. In addition, I lead a digitalization initiative to reform training programs and toolkits in the development cooperation sector using advanced AI tools.
I study how dictators drive support for their regime with propaganda, repression, and polarization, and which counter-mobilization and international assistance strategies can help mitigate their effectiveness. My dissertation research is about how and why autocrats financially coerce their closest business allies during sovereign debt crises. I also contribute to the computational and experimental methodological tools in political science research. I am part of several novel data collection efforts, including developing reproducible measures of democratic erosion. My co-authored papers are published in leading journals in our discipline, such as Journal of Democracy, Sociological Methods & Research, Government & Opposition, and Comparative Politics .
Previously, I was the co‑founder of a Toronto‑based political risk consultancy company, Maidan Analytics, which leverages proprietary algorithms to forecast protests and elections. Before my doctoral studies, I co‑founded two social impact initiatives. One based in Montreal advocated for social inclusion in the design of smart cities. The other, based in Istanbul, mobilized more than 30 stakeholder organizations in six countries across the MENA region to foster youth employment in the region.
During my doctoral studies, I was a graduate associate at POSTCOR Lab, a Trudeau Centre Fellow at the Munk School, a fellow at Jeanne Sauvé Foundation, and a Regional Manager at Digital Society Project. I’m a member of the Global Relations Forum. I’m also an alum of Massey College.
You may also find me occasionally singing at open mic events.