Engaging with armed groups

As co-director at the Centre on Armed Groups, Ashley leads an array of research, policy engagement and strategic advice focused on armed groups. Her interest in non-state armed actors is rooted in her time as an aid worker and her belief in the vital importance of talking to non-state actors to alleviate suffering and help civilians caught up in conflict. She has written widely on humanitarian dialogue with armed groups, focused on Afghanistan, Somalia, the Central African Republic and elsewhere. She has also advised various UN agencies, NGOs and foreign governments on humanitarian access and conflict mediation.

Her current work focuses on insurgent governance and how civilians navigate life under armed group control. Her book, Negotiating Survival: Civilian-Insurgent Relations in Afghanistan, examines relations between the Taliban and civilians. Alongside this, she has done extensive work on the Taliban, conducting extensive research and authoring editorials and reported pieces for Foreign Policy, the Telegraph, and others.

Media

Interviewed by AFP, Al Jazeera, BBC Newshour, Fox News, the Economist, the Independent, IRIN, New York Times, Radio Australia, Reuters, SBS, Voice of America and others.  

Podcasts and Events

Guest on various podcasts including BBC Real Story, BBC Briefing Room, Late Night Live, and Rear Vision.

Panelist and guest speaker in symposia and events convened by Oxford University, Overseas Development Institute, ATHA, Harvard University and elsewhere. 

Articles

How the Taliban’s Tax System Helped it Win Control of Afghanistan, The Conversation, August 23, 2022.

Five Myths About the Taliban, Washington Post, August 27, 2021.

This Is What Taliban Control Looks Like in 2021, NY Times, August 17, 2021.

Like It or Not, Governments Must Negotiate with the Taliban to Ensure Girls’ Access to Education, Telegraph, February 18, 2021 (with Rahmatullah Amiri).

New Pandemic, Same Old Problems, Centre for the Study of Armed Groups, June 15, 2020 (with Florian Weigand).

For the Taliban, the Pandemic is a Ladder, Foreign Policy, May 6, 2020.

Taliban Policy and Perceptions Towards Aid Agencies, Humanitarian Exchange, Issue 58, July 2013.

For Humanitarian Workers, the Taliban is Key to Access in Afghanistan, Global Observatory, February 2013.

Humanitarian Engagement with the Taliban in Afghanistan, Open Democracy, December 2012.

Research

Playing the Long Game: Exploring the Relationship between Al-Shabab and Civilians, Centre on Armed Groups/Hiraal Institute/ODI, August 2, 2023.

Taleban Perceptions of Aid: Conspiracy, Corruption and Miscommunication, Afghanistan Analysts Network, July 23, 2023.

Rethinking Armed Group Control, Centre for the Study of Armed Groups, May 2022 (with Florian Weigand, Leigh Mayhew, Ibraheem Bahiss).

Taliban Taxation in Afghanistan (2006-2021), International Centre for Tax and Development, February 2022 (with Rahmatullah Amiri).

Beyond Greed: Why Armed Groups Tax, Beyond Greed: Why Armed Groups Tax, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, January 2022 (with Tanya Bandula-Irwin, Max Gallien, Vanessa van den Boogaard & Florian Weigand).

Beyond Greed: Why Armed Groups Tax, International Centre for Tax and Development, November 2021 (with Tanya Bandula-Irwin, Max Gallien, Vanessa van den Boogaard & Florian Weigand).

Taliban Narratives on Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Centre for the Study of Armed Groups, September 2021 (with Rahmatullah Amiri).

Taliban Attitudes and Policies Toward Education, Centre for the Study of Armed Groups, February 2021 (with Rahmatullah Amiri).

Rebel Rule of Law: Taliban Courts in the West and North-west of Afghanistan, Overseas Development Institute, May 2020 (with Florian Weigand).

Insurgent Bureaucracy: How the Taliban Makes Policy, US Institute of Peace, November 2019 (with Rahmatullah Amiri).

The Taliban’s War for Legitimacy in Afghanistan, Current History, vol. 118, iss. 807, April 2019 (with Florian Weigand).

Armed Groups: Hinderers or Facilitators of Humanitarian Action? Geneva Call, May 2016.

Negotiating Perceptions: Al-Shabaab and Taliban Views of Aid Agencies, ODI Policy Brief, August 2014.

From the Spanish Civil War to Afghanistan: Historical and Contemporary Reflections on Humanitarian Engagement with Non-State Armed Groups, ODI Working Paper, May 2014 (with Eleanor Davey).

Humanitarian Negotiations: Key Lessons from Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia, ODI Policy Brief, March 2014.

Humanitarian Negotiations with Al-Shabaab in Somalia, ODI Working Paper, December 2013 (with Abdi Aynte). 

Al-Shabaab Engagement with Aid Agencies, ODI Policy Brief, December 2013 (with Abdi Aynte). 

Humanitarian Negotiations in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, Sudan, ODI Working Paper, August 2013 (with Irina Mosel).  

Taliban Perspectives on Aid and Development Work in Afghanistan, ODI Policy Brief, December 2012 (with Antonio Giustozzi).

Humanitarian Negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan, ODI Working Paper, December 2012 (with Antonio Giustozzi).

Talking to the Other Side: Humanitarian Negotiations with Armed Non-State Actors, ODI Policy Brief, June 2012.