Nicholas’s research interest lies in the intersection of religion and politics, with a specific focus on areas such as the politics of recognition-seeking, religion and social media, as well as the role of millenarian thinking in extremist politics. He holds a PhD from the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge. He is also MSc graduate in Asian Studies of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and a winner of the Rajabali Jumabhoy Foundation Gold Medal.

His doctoral research delves into the complex relationship between Islam and counter-terrorism in Malaysia, examining both the recognition-seeking drivers and knowledge construction dimension of this relationship.

Nicholas was also the co-investigator of a Meta research award in misinformation and polarisation, focusing specifically on the viral politics of right-wing populism in Malaysia.

Nicholas has published with journals such as Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Foreign Policy Analysis, TRaNS: Trans -Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia, Critical Studies in Terrorism and Critical Security Studies. He has also contributed a chapter about the evolution of Malaysia’s Islamist militancy in a monograph published by the Danish Institute for International Studies, and a policy brief on managing radicaliastion in Indonesia and Malaysia with the GREASE consortium under the European University Institute.

Nicholas also has substantial working experience with think tanks and research institutions in Southeast Asia, such as the ISEAS Yusof – Ishak Institute and Penang Institute.

PhD (Cambridge), MSc (RSIS, NTU)

• Religion and International Relations
• Muslim politics 
• Malaysian politics
• Ontological Security
• Religion, populism, and social media.
• Extremism