Kaleigh Heard

Kaleigh Heard is a Lecturer in Human Rights and Deputy Director of the MA in Human Rights programme at UCL's Department of Political Science. She also serves as Director of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drones and Modern Warfare. Her research focuses on ethico-strategic dilemmas in warfare, particularly human security issues such as civilian protection, children in armed conflict, and conflict-related sexual violence in coalition operations. She employs mixed methods and has conducted fieldwork across multiple conflict zones including Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Education:

• BA (Hon) in International Relations, University of Western Ontario
• MA in Political Science, University of British Columbia
• MA in War Studies, Royal Military College of Canada

Research Interests:

• Human security in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism
• Legal and ethical dimensions of modern warfare
• Civilian harm mitigation strategies
• Arctic defence systems
• Hybrid warfare analysis

Her book The Price of a Life: The Confluence of Law, Justice and Strategy in Civilian Harm Compensation (2023) examines compensation mechanisms for civilian casualties. Research funding has come from the Canadian Department of National Defence, UK Ministry of Defence, EU Commission, and others.

Advising and Grants: Provides advisory services to governments/NGOs. Active in policy development through roles like APPG Director. Collaborates on projects with Dstl, RAND Corporation, and NATO.

Labs/Teams: Leads research initiatives on modern warfare through UCL's Human Rights MA program and cross-institutional collaborations with defence research organizations.