Erica Gaston

Dr. Erica Gaston is Head of the Conflict Prevention and Sustaining Peace Programme at United Nations University Centre for Policy Research. Prior to joining UNU-CPR, Dr. Gaston worked for 15 years as a practitioner, lawyer and conflict analyst, focusing in particular on issues of conflict-related human rights and civilian protection, peacebuilding and dispute resolution, rule of law development and security sector reform, and proxy and sub-state conflict dynamics. She has significant field experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Pakistan, among others, with organizations including the Open Society Foundations, the Center for Civilians in Conflict, the Global Public Policy institute (GPPi), and others. Dr. Gaston is also a Non-Resident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and with GPPi.

Gaston has published and provided commentary widely, including on Lawfare.com, War on the Rocks, the Guardian, Foreign Policy, CNN, Al Jazeera, BBC and others. Her past academic articles in the Harvard International Law Journal and the Harvard National Security Law Journal have examined emerging definitions of soldier self-defense and accountability for private security companies. She has also edited three book compendiums focused on the changing norms and practices in 21st-century conflict, and has a forthcoming book on risk mitigation in US partnerships with local forces with Columbia University Press. She is currently a guest columnist for World Politics Review.

Education

• PhD in Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge
• JD, Harvard Law School
• BA in International Relations, Stanford University

Honors and Awards

• German Chancellor Fellowship
• Gates Cambridge Scholar
• Former term member at the Council in Foreign Relations