I have an interdisciplinary background in social sciences with a focus on human rights, civil society, and rights-based development. My book Contested Civil Society in Myanmar: Local Change and Global Recognition was published by Bristol University Press in 2024: available open access on the BUP website.
My research focuses on social and political activism on the community, regional and (trans)national level. I particularly look at issues of voice, representation and legitimacy within rights-based advocacy. I study the views and identities of organised civil society actors, their transnational advocacy strategies, and their relationship with donors and other supporters. I have published articles on civil society in Kenya and Myanmar, and am currently working on publications dealing with advocacy legitimacy and inter-generational Myanmar activism.
Under my starter grant project Ethnographic Impact for Social Justice I collaborate with colleagues and societal partners to highlight local approaches to resist repression and promote social justice. Together with Seng Bu I published an article on long-distance activism by the Myanmar diaspora in the Netherlands. With NIMD I collaborated to document their work with Women Peace Ambassadors in Myanmar's Shan State. With Ngao Tong Films I co-produced two documentaries on the lives of Shan migrants in Thailand.
I have worked for various organisations in The Netherlands on issues such as discrimination, international justice and refugee rights, and served as a board member for the Dutch Foundation for Peace Studies (Stichting Vredeswetenschappen). I was a postdoctoral researcher in projects on land rights advocacy in Kenya at Radboud University and on urban intermediaries in the Netherlands at Tilburg University, where I co-authored reports for the Dutch Ministries of Foreign Affairs (BuZa) and the Interior (BZK).
In 2021-2023 I conducted a follow-up project in which I further explored community relations with CSOs in Ghana and Kenya, and developed a toolkit for development practitioners. For this project I partnered with Partos and RIVA Illustrations. Two cartoons coming out of this project can be found under publications. This project was shortlisted for the Routledge Area Studies Impact Award.
I teach courses in anthropology, development and conflict & peacebuilding at VU. For the Professional Anthropology Track I supervised Master students collaborating with Terre des Hommes, Caritas, Stichting Vluchteling and Solidaridad. I am co-supervisor of PhD candidates Linggar Putra and Lyn Le, associate editor for Development in Practice, and proofreader for the Scholars at Risk Network.
