Jessica Watkins

Dr. Jessica Watkins is a prominent academic affiliated with the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) since 2021, serving as an Associate at the Institute for Middle East Studies. Prior to this, she held roles as Research Fellow (2021), Guest Teacher in International Relations at the London School of Economics (2020-2021), and Postdoctoral Research Officer at the London School of Economics (2017-2021). Her academic journey includes positions at King's College London and the Rand Corporation.

• PhD War Studies (Civil policing in Jordan), King's College London
• MA International Relations, King's College London
• BA Hons in Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge

Her research explores global orders and foreign policies with a focus on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, Iraq, and Jordan. She investigates democratization barriers in post-conflict settings, community policing dynamics, and statebuilding approaches through qualitative analysis and case studies.

Key publication trends include post-conflict governance, tribal-state interactions, and critiques of international coalition strategies in Iraq. Her work emphasizes the interplay between political legitimacy, institutional corruption, and grassroots trust in security frameworks.

Dr. Watkins contributes to the GIGA Doctoral Program and collaborates with researchers like Dr. Falah Mubarak Bardan and Mustafa Hasan. Her projects bridge academic research with policy advice, particularly in democratization and security studies.