I am an incoming PhD student in Political Science, specializing in International Relations and Methods. My research focuses on international conflict, international political economy, migration, great power competition, foreign policy, and the politics of health.

My work centers on the politics of conflict, regime behavior, and strategic competition in South Asia and the broader Global South. I am particularly interested in how authoritarian and hybrid regimes use foreign policy, repression, information control, and diversionary strategies to manage domestic crises. A second strand of my research examines how great-power rivalry, especially U.S.–China competition, shapes the foreign policy choices of small and middle powers through hedging, alignment, development finance, and soft-power competition. A third strand connects migration, displacement, public health, and political instability, with attention to how human insecurity becomes linked to state capacity, governance failure, and regional security.

Methodologically, I use a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative and quantitative tools, including regression analysis, content analysis, thematic analysis, and computational text analysis using natural language processing and machine learning. My research draws on and contributes to international relations theory, political economy, comparative politics, and global public health.

Born and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh, I earned my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Public Administration from the University of Barishal. Motivated by a growing interest in global politics, I later began a second Master’s degree in Political Science at the University of Southern Mississippi. I will begin my PhD in Politics, University of Virginia in Fall 2026.

Before joining the University of Southern Mississippi, I held a tenure-track lectureship in Development Studies at Daffodil International University. I also worked as a researcher and data analyst with several organizations, including BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health, the Centre for Advanced Research in Social Sciences, and BetterStories.

My research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as BMC Public Health, International Journal of Community Well-Being, SN Social Sciences, Society and Culture in South Asia, Heliyon, and Small Wars & Insurgencies. I have also contributed book chapters to the Handbook of Migration, International Relations and Security in Asia and Soft Power and Diplomatic Strategies in Asia and the Middle East. In addition to academic publishing, I regularly write for public-facing platforms, including The Diplomat, The Geopolitics, and New Age.

My current work is grounded in a commitment to bridging theory and policy, particularly around questions of strategic behavior, regime type, and human security in the Global South.