Research

1. Energy Geopolitics

I find myself drawn to the world through the lens of energy relations. There is something revealing about tracing how oil, gas, or electricity connects, and divides, states, companies, and regional bodies. The geopolitics of critical infrastructure and choke points captures my attention in particular: these are the arteries of the international system, and their vulnerability exposes how deeply energy and security are intertwined. Regional energy cooperation adds yet another layer I find intellectually exciting, where economic logic, political trust, and geopolitical competition collide and sometimes, unexpectedly, produce governance.

2. Global and Regional Governance

In a multipolar world, governance is no longer a single conversation, it is many, happening simultaneously at different tables. What I find compelling is precisely this complexity: how multilateral forums, bilateral deals, and minilateral coalitions each shape international order in different ways and for different reasons. Regional organisations sit at the heart of this landscape, and their diversity is itself illuminating: the rule-based architecture of the EU, the geopolitical weight of the SCO, the normative aspirations of the African Union, the contested identity of the Arab League, the quiet pragmatism of ASEAN, and the resource-driven cohesion of the GCC all reflect the richness of how regions construct authority, manage conflict, and engage the wider world.

3. Critical Infrastructure Security

Critical infrastructure is no longer simply a domestic security concern, it has become a primary battleground of modern geopolitical conflict. My research focuses on the security of these systems, with particular attention to terrorist threats, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and the resilience strategies that states and operators deploy in response. I am especially interested in how physical and digital risks converge, how systems and institutions respond in the immediate aftermath of an attack, and what the recovery process reveals about how to design more robust and adaptive resilience frameworks.

4. IR Theory

My engagement with IR theory is shaped by a critical curiosity about its foundational assumptions. Approaching the field from a post-structuralist sensibility, I find the practice turn and the relational turn especially generative, as both challenge the discipline’s tendency to privilege abstract structures and fixed identities. I am interested in how attention to everyday enactments and relational processes can reframe our understanding of how international life is produced, reproduced, and contested.