I am Visiting Scholar at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. I am also the Director of Studies at the Changing Character of War Centre, Senior Research Fellow at Pembroke College, and at the Department of Politics and International Relations, and affiliate at the Latin American Centre, all University of Oxford. I am Research Associate at the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding, Graduate Institute Geneva. I hold a doctorate from the Department of International Development and St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford.

I have conducted extensive fieldwork in war-torn and crisis-affected borderlands, including in and on Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Myanmar and Kenya (on Somalia) analysing people-centred security dynamics.

My research interests as an academic and policy adviser lie at the interface of conflict, security and transnational organised crime, especially drug trafficking as well as terrorism, peace building and governance. I am particularly interested in the role that diverse types of violent non-state groups play in these dynamics. Among other areas, I focus on the political economy of borderlands as spaces where criminal, terrorist and conflict dynamics converge. Methodologically, I am fascinated by the use of ethnographic methods in Political Science and International Relations, drawing on insights from Anthropology, Sociology, Criminology, Development Studies and Area Studies.

Here is an overview of my work:

Ongoing Projects:

• The Changing Character of Conflict Platform: Understanding, Tracing and Forecasting Change across Time, Space and Cultures, funded by AHRC/ESRC (Principal Investigator)
• From Conflict Actors to Architects of Peace: Promoting Security and Development across Borders, funded by Canada Global Affairs (Principal Investigator)
• From Conflict Actors to Architects of Peace: Justice, Peace, and Politics in the Creation of a Lasting Peace in Colombia’s Marginalised Regions, funded by the Oxford-Berlin Research Partnership Seed Grant (Principal Investigator, with Sergio Costa)
• Beyond the War on Drugs: The International Drug Control Regime in the 21st Century (in collaboration with Juan Carlos Garzón, Woodrow Wilson Center)

Recently Completed Projects:

• From Conflict Actors to Architects of Peace: Changing Security Landscapes Viewed from the Margins, funded by the UK Global Challenges Research Fun, Higher Education Funding Council for England (Principal Investigator)
• From Conflict Actors to Architects of Peace: Promoting Human Security in Colombia and Internationally, funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Principal Investigator)
• Implementing a Ceasefire and Ending Armed Conflict: How to enhance human security and cross-border development in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela (Principal Investigator, in collaboration with UN Colombia)
• Putting Frontier Research into Action: Tackling Violent Non-state Groups in Peripheral Spaces (in collaboration with UN Colombia and the UN System Staff College) 
• Towards Sustainable Peace in Colombia and the World: A Critical Perspective on Army Transformation
• Dynamics of War and Peace: Drama, Poetry, Music and Dance (in collaboration with Rama Mani, Theatre of Transformation)
• Negotiating with Armed Actors: Peace Communities in Colombia (in collaboration with Cécile Mouly and Belen Garrido, FLACSO Quito)

Contact:

Dr Annette Idler (aidler(at)wcfia.harvard.edu; annetteirisidler(at)gmail.com)

61 Kirkland Street, room 111, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA