Sarah G. Phillips

Sarah G. Phillips is a Professor of Global Conflict and Development at the University of Sydney, and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. She specializes in international intervention in the global south, knowledge production about violence, authoritarianism, and non-state governance, with regional focus on the Middle East and Africa.

• Current Roles: Non-Resident Fellow at Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies (Yemen/Lebanon); Research Associate at Developmental Leadership Program (University of Birmingham, UK)
• Research Focus: State formation, counterterrorism, political settlements, and security-development nexus

Notable Works: Her book When There Was No Aid (2020) won the Crisp Prize and was Foreign Affairs' Book of the Year. Her 2015 article with Justin Hastings in African Affairs earned the Stephen Ellis Prize.

Article Trends: Recent publications analyze counterterrorism knowledge (2024-2025), economic dynamics in conflict zones (2022), and Yemen/Somaliland state formation (2011-2020). Topics span Islamic State, maritime piracy, political settlements, and public secrecy.

• Major Grants: 3x Australian Research Council awards (DECRA, Discovery Project, Future Fellowship); SOAR Fellowship (2020-21)

Advising: Supervises research students on topics including hybrid courts, war economies, and gender in conflict zones. Not accepting new PhD students currently.