Nicholas Chan holds a PhD from the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge. His research interest lies in the intersection of religion and politics, with a specific focus on areas such as the politics of status-seeking, religion and social media, as well as the role of millenarian thinking in politics.

His PhD project examines how considerations of status affected counterterrorism in Malaysia. Nicholas is 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 in journals such as Foreign Policy Analysis, TRaNS: Trans-Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia (upcoming), Critical Studies in Terrorism, and Critical Security Studies.