Bardia Rahmani is a PhD student in political science specializing in comparative politics. His research interests include media persuasion, transitions to and from democracy, and the politics of inequality, which he investigates using experimental methods. Prior to Columbia, Mr. Rahmani worked as a field researcher in the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region and in East Timor, where he focused on issues of corruption and state criminality. He also covered the politics of these countries as a freelance journalist. He speaks Persian, French, and Tetun. Mr. Rahmani holds a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and an MA in Political Science from Columbia University.