Darin is an Associate Professor of Public Policy and Political Science and Chair of the Master's of Global Public Affairs at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs. He studies the political economy of conflict and development, focusing on institutions and policies that promote investment and good governance and mitigate violence in the Global South.

Darin received his Ph.D. in Political Science and M.A. in Economics from Stanford University. His research has been published in leading outlets in political science and economics, including The American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, International Organization, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Quarterly Journal of Economics.