Peripheral Vision: Women Leading Conflict Research 

Conflict and instability endure in Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa in contested border regions where local tensions connect with regional and global dynamics. The Asia Foundation, the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, the Rift Valley Institute, and their local research partners established the X-Border Local Research Network in 2018 to develop a better global understanding of political, economic, and social dynamics in conflict-affected borderlands. The X-Border Local Research Network produces research to inform more effective policymaking and programming. It is a component of the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office’s Cross-border Conflict Evidence, Policy, and Trends (XCEPT) research program. 

The X-Border Local Research Network emphasizes partnering with local researchers and research institutions based in their study regions. It builds, maintains, and expands research networks in remote and difficult-to-reach conflict-affected regions such as the Afghanistan-Pakistan borderlands, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, Sudan, and South Sudan. Finally, it supports improvements in local research methods and capacity.

Listen to our six distinguished Women Researchers Fellows as they share their research focus and areas of interest. They offer valuable insights into the experiences and perspectives of women conducting research in conflict-affected regions and discuss the contributions they aspire to make in their respective fields. 

The fellows introduce their research and discuss the challenges women face in an often male-dominated professional field. Through their participation in the X-Border Local Research Network, the fellows have built new networks and exchanged perspectives with peers and mentors from across the XCEPT program, which emphasizes partnering with local researchers and research institutions based in their study regions. 

Women Research Fellows: