Former Country Representative, Myanmar

Matthew Arnold formerly served as The Asia Foundation’s country representative in Myanmar. Arnold’s focus is on subnational governance, conflict, and managing a diverse research agenda. He has broad field-based monitoring and evaluation experience; has conducted extensive academic research on conflict, security and state fragility; and has in-depth knowledge of Myanmar, Timor-Leste, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Thailand. He also served as a senior program officer for The Asia Foundation, overseeing results monitoring and research regarding conflict and fragility programming. Matthew Arnold was previously a senior research fellow at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University where he conducted research focused on foreign interventionism and post-conflict reconstruction in weak states. Arnold also worked for the UN World Food Programme managing operations in refugee camps in Ethiopia and as a monitoring & evaluation advisor in humanitarian crises ranging from Liberia, Afghanistan and the DR Congo to Sri Lanka, Aceh, and Timor-Leste. He has co-authored two books: Militias and the Challenges of Post-Conflict Peace (Zed Books, 2011) and South Sudan: From revolution to independence (Oxford University Press, 2012). He also has published in leading journals on Asia, security and development, including Asian Survey, International Peacekeeping, and Conflict, Security and Development.

Education: Doctoral and master’s degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science.