Dr Jacob Eriksson
Lecturer

Visit Dr Jacob Eriksson's profile on the York Research Database to:

See a full list of publications

Browse activities and projects

Explore connections, collaborators, related work and more

Profile

Biography

My work lies in the fields of conflict studies, conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and post-war recovery, with a particular focus on the Middle East. In this regional context I am interested in the dynamics of political transition more broadly, not just war-to-peace transitions but also transitions away from authoritarianism.

One strand of my work focuses on the dynamics of third-party mediation of conflict, analysing the roles, strategies, and effectiveness of both small-state and superpower mediators. Empirically, much of my work in this field has focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. My first book, Small-state Mediation in International Conflicts: Diplomacy and Negotiation in Israel-Palestine was published by IB Tauris in 2015, and I have also published widely on different aspects of the conflict and the failed peace process.

Another strand of my work examines the complexities of post-war recovery, with a particular focus on Iraq and its recovery from ISIS. This research has been funded by the C and JB Morrell Trust and the Department of Politics and International Relations. I am the co-editor, together with Dr Ahmed Khaleel, of Iraq after ISIS: The challenges of post-war recovery, published by Palgrave in 2018. My second book, A victor's peace in Iraq: ISIS and the mediated state, is forthcoming with Manchester University Press in 2026, and analyses processes of peacebuilding related to political power-sharing, security sector reform, transitional justice, and reconciliation.

I am currently the Director of the York Centre for Conflict and Security.

My commentary has been featured in a variety of national and international media, including the BBC, The Washington Post, al-Jazeera, France 24, France TV 2 News, and The New Humanitarian.

Career

I hold BA and MA degrees from the War Studies Department at King's College London, and a PhD from the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS). After completing my PhD, I worked as a Learning Development Manager at SOAS, primarily working in academic skills development. I joined the Department in October 2012 as a Teaching Fellow in Middle Eastern Politics, and then became Lecturer in Post-war Recovery Studies in the Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit.

Research

Overview

My current research revolves around three main strands.

1) I continue to work on multiple aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including third-party mediation in the context of the 2025 Gaza ceasefire, and how different constituencies in Israel understand the relationship between territory and security.

2) I am analysing the ongoing process of post-war recovery in Iraq following the territorial defeat of ISIS in 2017 and the nature of the victor's peace that has emerged. In this context, I am exploring the complex relationship between different social and political actors and the state, which challenge conventional Weberian and liberal notions of both the state and sustainable peace.

3) I am working with a consortium of colleagues across academia, think tanks, and government to analyse economic processes of post-war recovery, with a focus on the relationship between neoliberal economics and local perspectives. I co-authored a working paper on the subject (International Financial Institutions and the future of Syria: Lessons from Kosovo, Timor-Leste, and South Africa, York Centre for Conflict and Security, January 2025), and am continuing to work on Kosovo and Syria as case studies.

Methodologically, I primarily use qualitative methods and have conducted fieldwork in Iraq, Israel, Kosovo, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Sri Lanka.

Supervision

PhD Supervision

Maryam al-Mahmoud, 'Mediation diplomacy as small-state survival strategy: a case study of Qatar's engagement with the Taliban and Hamas'
Angelik Nehme, 'IMF Engagement, Reform, and Political Settlements in Fragile and Post-Conflict States'
Lucas Blades-Barrett, 'In Whose Image? – A study of the dialectic between identity, foreign policy, and legitimacy in the
Kurdish Region of Iraq'
Mohammed Fahim Hotak, 'Education governance in post-conflict zones: funding, international development and the case of Afghanistan'

Dr Jacob Eriksson welcomes PhD applications in the following areas:

Conflict
Conflict resolution
Mediation
Peace building
Post-war recovery
Peace and conflict in the Middle East

Teaching

Undergraduate

Politics of the Middle East: Regimes and societies in transition (POL00022H)

War & Peace (POL00073I)

Postgraduate

Causes and Conduct of Conflict (POL00099M)

Politics of Peacebuilding (POL00101M)

The Practice of Fieldwork (POL00016M)

Dr Jacob Eriksson Lecturer