Opinion Pieces & Blog Posts

Life Histories as a Methodology to Capture the Long Arc of Civilian Harm in Afghanistan
2026, Beyond Compliance

Between Aftershocks & Airstrikes in Myanmar
2025, Beyond Compliance

Do good fences actually make good neighbors?
2025, Foreign Policy

New Research Centre on Armed Groups
2023, Armed Groups and International Law

Sahel insurgency: What policymakers need to do differently
2022, The New Humanitarian

The Tyranny of Color-Coded Maps: What We Get Wrong about Measuring Control during Armed Conflict
2022, Irregular Warfare Initiative, West Point’s Modern War Institute

How to build (or lose) legitimacy during war
2022, LSE International Development

Why do armed groups tax? It’s not just about the money
2022, International Centre for Tax and Development

Humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan in the light of a Taliban-controlled state
2021, Centre for Humanitarian Action

Afghanistan: a legitimacy failure
2021, LSE International Development

Lessons after 20 years of (failed) peacebuilding
2021, Lessons for Peace

Afghanistan: Winning the War or Building a State?
2021, Lessons for Peace

Kabul at War: The Widening Gap between the State and its Citizens
2021, LSE Conflict Research Programme

Three Myths about Armed Groups and the Smuggling Economy
2021, ODI Insight

Book Review | Crossed Swords: Pakistan, its Army and the Wars Within by Shuja Nawaz
2019, South Asia @LSE

Building Legitimacy during Armed Conflict – Learning from the Taliban
2017, Political Violence @ at Glance