His research and teaching focus on international security, conflict and governance. His research examines the range of contentious global politics from nonviolent resistance movements to interstate war. His book manuscript, Between Mao and Gandhi: Strategies of Violence and Nonviolence in Revolutionary Movements, investigates variation in the strategic behavior of groups seeking to capture state power. Findings from his research were featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's "Big Ideas" radio program. Previous work has been published in Small Wars and Insurgencies, the Journal of Public and International Affairs, and al-Naklah, and has been supported by the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Program on Negotiation, the Eisenhower Institute, and the Bradley Foundation.