Dr Ayesha Siddiqa

A Ph.D. in War Studies from King’s College London and author of 2 books including internationally acclaimed Military Inc – expertise in military decision-making, defence economics, civil-military relations and militancy and extremism in South Asia and the Middle East. She has also authored 12 book chapters and published over 300 articles in academic journals and opinion pieces in leading national & international outlets including The New York Times, Al-Jazeera, The Indian Express, The Hindu, The Dawn, Jane’s Defence Weekly, Kafila, Le Monde Diplomatique, The News, Tehelka, Himal, OpenDemocracy, Outlook India, Dawn, The Friday Times, Newsline and others. She is a regular contributor to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (APSI) Counter-Terrorism yearbook for 2018 & 2019. She is the only woman and civilian to work with Pakistan Navy as Director of Naval Research. She has worked as an Advisor to the Chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) – Pakistan’s Anti-Corruption Watchdog. She has been associated with the Department of the Auditor General of Pakistan for ~ 10 years as part of Pakistan’s prestigious Civil Service

Academia

Member of the Academic Council of Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan 2018 – 2021

10+ years cumulative experience of developing course modules including for UK’s FCO & teaching graduate and undergraduate courses/modules at Johns Hopkins University, University of Pennsylvania, Quaid-e-Azam University and Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

Regularly invited lecturer at leading educational institutes and think-tanks including Johns Hopkins, University of California – Berkeley, George Washington University, Columbia University, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Tufts University, Oxford University, Heritage Foundation, Durham, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Chatham House, Kings College, Lund University, Sorbonne University and Royal Danish Defence College among others.

Recipient of several prestigious fellowships and research grants including Charles Wallace Fellowship (Oxford), Woodrow Wilson Pakistan Fellowship, Ford Fellowship, University of New Mexico, SDPI Fellow, Mehboob-ul-Haq Award, Heinrich Boll Foundation Grant, Center for Strategic Research and Analysis Grant, and Kodikara Award etc

Teaching

Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the Government of the UK
September 2017 – November 2018 | Faculty in South Asia Workshop(s) organized by Department of War Studies, Kings College, London. - ‘Reconciliation in Afghanistan and South Asia’ - ‘Future of South Asia’ - ‘South Asia & the UK’ - Pakistan’s Foreign Policy

Centre of International Studies and Diplomacy

November 2016 – November 2018 | SOAS, University of London - Developed Graduate Studies Module on Pakistan and Afghanistan for FCO (Global Security)
Graduate Teaching Fellow, School of Advanced Int’l Studies John Hopkins University, Washington D.C., USA - ‘Pakistan: Evolution of a Post-Colonial State’

Teaching Fellow, Department of South Asian Studies University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA - Graduate Course: ‘Pakistan’s Political Economy’ - Undergraduate Course: ‘Modern History of Afghanistan & Pakistan’

Professor, Department of Defence & Strategic Studies Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan - Research Methodology - Defence Economics - Defense Policies of India & Pakistan

Visiting Professor – School of Social Science Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan - Military Technology, Warfare & Arms Control

Education

09/92 – 04/96 Ph.D. (War Studies) Kings College, London UK
01/90 – 03/92 M. A. (Political Philosophy & Int’l Organization) University of Punjab, Lahore, PK
09/82 – 08/84 B. A. (History, IR, English Literature & Persian) Kinnaird College, Lahore, PK 

Books

• “Military Inc, Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy” 2nd Edition Pluto Press, London, Nov 2016 ISBN: 0745399010
• “Military Inc, Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy” Pluto Press, London, April 2007 ISBN 0745325459
• “Pakistan’s Arms Procurement and Military Build-up, 1979-1999. In Search of a Policy” Palgrave Press, March 2001 ISBN 0333731727