Ashley Jackson

Ashley Jackson is a research associate at KCL and works with the Overseas Development Institute, focused on non-state armed groups and humanitarian crises. She has conducted dialogue with and researched 27 armed factions across 13 countries, including research with the Afghan Taliban, Al-Shabaab, various Syrian factions, Hamas and others. She has been widely quoted in the media, authored numerous features and editorials for Foreign Policy, Politico, the Guardian and others, and was named a Foreign Policy Interrupted Fellow in 2018.

Ashley has extensive experience on the ground in conflicts and complex emergencies. She served as a political affairs officer with the UN and as head of policy for Oxfam in Afghanistan, where she successfully lobbied international forces to introduce tighter restrictions on the use of force and do more to protect civilians. Prior to that, she was a Red Cross delegate in southeast Asia. She also provides high level policy advice and expertise, including as an advisor to the UK parliament on Afghanistan and to the UN on humanitarian access and peacebuilding.