Research
“Bread and Circuses: The Political Consequences of Entertainment in Autocracies”
Authoritarian states are increasingly investing in projects related to entertainment and leisure for their citizens and residents. In Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030’s expansion of entertainment and leisure is being undertaken not only in the name of economic diversification but also to improve quality of life. Drawing on over 22 million tweets (2017–2019) geotagged in Saudi Arabia, fine-tuned Saudi Arabic language classifiers, and a database of government-organized entertainment events, I examine the effect of entertainment on mood and online political expression.
Happiness and Political Control: Winning Compliance in the Arab Gulf This book examines how state-led wellbeing, quality of life, and leisure policies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE shape citizen emotion and political behavior. Drawing on original survey experiments, social media data, and qualitative fieldwork, the project asks when and how positive affect and policies that generate positive affect can generate political compliance.
“Can You Hear Me Now?” Experimental Evidence on Improving Public Service Delivery Through Non-Electoral Citizen Participation
with Asim Khwaja and Saher Asad
How can ordinary citizens hold the state accountable for public service delivery? Through a large-scale randomized controlled trial in rural Punjab, Pakistan, we test whether community meetings can encourage collective action, increase engagement with politicians and bureaucrats, and strengthen trust in government.
“The Comfort of Capacity: How Exposure to Strong Governance Shapes Political Behavior”
with Perry Carter
How does living in a high-capacity non-democracy shape political preferences? Using a survey experiment, we test whether reminders of the UAE’s economic performance, safety, efficiency, and non-electoral political system influence migrants’ preferences for their home country’s political systems.