Lilly is a PhD student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago.

She specializes in Comparative Politics, with a focus on political economy, authoritarianism, Middle East politics, and qualitative methods. Her dissertation project, entitled “Invest in Egypt: International Finance, Business Networks, and the State,” considers how Egyptian elites have sought to attract both domestic and international investment (both material and affective) amid a series of regional and global economic shocks, and how these attempts have been received by Egyptians at large. She uses this analysis to make broader arguments about the international financial system’s impact on domestic politics in the developing world, the relationship between neoliberalization and authoritarianism, and business politics in the Arab world. Her dissertation combines archival research, media analysis, interviews, and ethnographic methods.

She holds an MA in Political Science from the Department of Political Science and a BA in Political Science and Economics from Indiana University. She previously served as Associate Editor of The Middle East Journal.