I am currently working on a book manuscript tracing the history of soomaalinimo (somali-ness) and other categories of belonging in Somalia Italiana. Built on three years of archival and oral history research in Italy, Somalia, and the UK, the book denaturalizes clanship as the sole explanatory variable in Somali history and interrogates the role of slavery, labor, and nationalism in defining what it means to be Somali.

I also have other ongoing writing projects related to labor, soldiering, and law in Somali history.