Emerging Experts
Emerging experts have expressed an interest in addressing the humanitarian, economic and other implications of arms transfers, security assistance, and weapons use...and are at an early stage in their career.
Current program participants (mid-2024 to mid-2025) are based in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States and are of American (United States), Australian, Brazilian, British, Finnish, French, German, Indian, Irish, Israeli, Lebanese, Myanma, Nepali, Nigerian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Scottish, South African, Spanish, Turkish and Ukrainian nationality. See what they are tweeting here.
The Forum's work is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Inclusion in this list is meant to strengthen our community, but does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others. Institutional affiliation, where indicated, is for identification purposes only. To learn more about the Emerging Experts list and program, click here.
The Forum's work is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Inclusion in this list is meant to strengthen our community, but does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others. Institutional affiliation, where indicated, is for identification purposes only. To learn more about the Emerging Experts list and program, click here.
Jonathan Ellis Allen
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Ana Assis
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Nyein Nyein Thant Aung
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Christelle Barakat
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Richa Bhattarai
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Manon Blancafort
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Jack Cinamon
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LuÃs Campani Farias
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Avidan Freedman
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Ida Andenæs Galtung
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Alejandro Gálvez Robles
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Niamh Gillen
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Tayseer Habib
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Monalisa Hazarika
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Tove Holmström
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Zain Hussain
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Dominika Iwan-Sojka
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Natasha Karner
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Olena Kryzhanivska
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Isi Madojemu
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Jowita Mieszkowska
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Kaya Nadesan
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Anna Provan
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Ruth Rohde
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Rima Rusnac
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Esra Serim
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Ellie Shackleton
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Chiara Torelli
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Sannimari Veini
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Rahul Wankhede
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Jonathan Ellis Allen is a research associate at the Cato Institute and producer of Power Problems podcast. His work on arms sales features in numerous outlets. Email jallen [at] cato [dot] org || @jeallenFP || LinkedIn
Ana Carolina de Oliveira Assis is a Project Coordinator at the ISDP (Sweden) and a PhD candidate in Political Science at the Federal University of Pernambuco. Previously to joining ISDP, she was a guest researcher at SIPRI. Her research interests are military equipment spending and national defense. Email: anaa [dot] caroliina [at] hotmail [dot] com II LinkedIn
Nyein Nyein Thant Aung is an Erasmus Mundus Scholar pursuing an International master's degree in Security, Intelligence, and Strategic Studies at the University of Glasgow. She specializes in Indo-Pacific security policy, focusing on dual-use technology and drones in Myanmar. Email: nyein [dot] aung2 [at] mail [dot] dcu [dot] ie II LinkedIn II Twitter: @nyein_nta
Christelle Barakat is a researcher at the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies and a Fulbright recipient holding a M.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies with a concentration in International Peace Development from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her research interests include disarmament, non-proliferation, and arms control, the Sustainable Development Goals and diversity, equity and inclusion. Email: christelle [dot] barakat8 [at] gmail [dot] com II LinkedIn II Instagram
Richa Bhattarai is an emerging scholar and expert in the fields of international conflict management. Currently a PhD candidate at Kennesaw State University, she is dedicated to exploring nuanced dimensions of international relations and U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the context of U.S.-Iran counterterrorism and diplomatic strategies for the broader Middle Eastern stability. Email: richabattarai01 [at] gmail [dot] com || LinkedIn
Manon Blancafort is a project assistant at the Small Arms Survey, where she works on the illicit proliferation of SALW in Afghanistan, IEDs in West Africa and the ATT in the Indo-Pacific. Previously, Manon worked at UNIDIR as well at the UN Secretariat. She holds a Master in Peace, Security and Conflicts from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and an International Humanitarian Law post-graduate degree from the Université Côte d’Azur. Email: manon [dot] blancafort [at] smallarmssurvey [dot] org II LinkedIn
Jack Cinamon is researcher and parliamentary liaison for Shadow World Investigations and co-research coordinator for the Corruption Tracker. His research mostly focuses on grand corruption and the global arms trade. Email: jack [at] shadowworldinvestigations [dot] org II LinkedIn II Twitter: @Jack_Cinamon
Luís Campani Farias is a research affiliate at the InterAgency Institute. He has been leading their advocacy on the regulation of autonomous weapons systems (AWS) since 2023. He has represented the Institute in the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) and conferences in Luxembourg and Vienna Conference on the topic, upon which he has also published policy briefs and reports. Email: luiscampani [at] protonmail [dot] ch II LinkedIn II Portfolio
Avidan Freedman is the founder and director of Yanshoof, an Israeli organization dedicated to advocating for ethical limits on Israeli arms exports, to ensure that Israel ends its military support of regimes committing gross violations of human rights. Email Avidan [at] yanshoof [dot] org || @no2arms || Facebook
Ida Andenæs Galtung is a PhD candidate at the University of Oslo and holds a master's degree in law from the same university. She previously worked as an advisor in the Legislation Department in the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, and as a research assistant in the Research Services Section in the Norwegian Parliament. Email: i [dot] m [dot] a [dot] galtung [at] jus [dot] uio [dot] no II LinkedIn
Alejandro Gálvez Robles is an intelligence analyst and human rights researcher, specialized in international humanitarian law and international criminal justice. He is currently focused on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at Amnesty International in Spain, and holds a degree in Criminology from Rey Juan Carlos University and master´s degree in Human Rights, Democracy and Globalization from the Open University of Catalonia. Email: a [dot] galvezrobles [at] gmail [dot] com II LinkedIn
Niamh Gillen is an explosive violence researcher at Action on Armed Violence, where she focuses on civilian harm caused by explosive weapons. Prior to joining, she worked as a research assistant within King's College London’s Centre for the Study of Divided Societies. She holds an MA in Strategic Communications from King’s College London. Email: niamhr [dot] gillen [at] gmail [dot] com II LinkedIn
Tayseer Habib is the program coordinator at the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL). Previously, he worked as an advocacy fellow at the HALO Trust (USA), where he helped promote funding for humanitarian demining programs on Capitol Hill. Habib has a MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins SAIS. Email: tayseer [dot] facilitates [at] gmail [dot] com | LinkedIn
Monalisa Hazarika is a consultant at the SCRAP Weapons Project of SOAS University of London and holds an M.A. in Conflict Management and Development from Banaras Hindu University, India. Her area of focus is SALWs, especially improvised and craft-produced weapons, ATT, Additive Manufacturing, and the nexus of illicit trafficking of arms and narcotics in South & Southeast Asia.
Email: haza [dot] mona [at] gmail [dot] com || @mona_haza || LinkedIn || Instagram
Email: haza [dot] mona [at] gmail [dot] com || @mona_haza || LinkedIn || Instagram
Tove Holmström is a war crimes investigator specializing in tracing transfers of arms and dual use goods and technologies and their use in the commission of international crimes. Formerly working for the UN Human Rights Office, she is a rostered open-source and geospatial intelligence analyst expert with Justice Rapid Response. Email tove [dot] holmstrom [at] multi [dot] fi || LinkedIn
Zain Hussain is a researcher in the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme, focusing on the MENA region. He worked at the British American Security Information Council (BASIC) as a Quaker Peace and Social Witness peaceworker and at Moody’s ESG, focusing on controversial weapons activity. Email: zain [dot] hussain [at] sipri [dot] org II LinkedIn
Dominika Iwan-Sojka PhD, is an assistant professor at the University of Silesia in Katowice and a research fellow at the T.M.C. Asser Institute. Her research concerns the role of transparency in military applications of artificial intelligence (AI) as well as the nature of arms transfers and its impact on conflict zones. Email: dominika [dot] iwan [at] us [dot] edu [dot] pl II LinkedIn
Natasha Karner is a PhD candidate at RMIT University and an AI Governance Fellow at Pivotal. She specializes in emerging technologies and global security, with a particular interest in autonomous weapons systems (AWS) and artificial intelligence (AI). Email: natasha [dot] karner [at] gmail [dot] com II LinkedIn II Twitter: @NatashaKarner
Olena Kryzhanivska is an independent researcher with a PhD degree in Political and Social Sciences from Gazi University, Turkey. She has previously provided expert analysis for the Norwegian Embassy in Turkey and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. Currently, Olena monitors arms transfers to Ukraine and publishes her weekly newsletter «Ukraine’s Arms Monitor» on LinkedIn. Email: olena [dot] kryzhanivska91 [at] gmail [dot] com || LinkedIn
Isi Madojemu is a law librarian at the Peace Palace Library. He is currently studying for a LLM in International Criminal and Human Rights Law and is interested in how international law regulates arms transfers between States and how the international community is working to reduce illicit arms flows. LinkedIn
Jowita Mieszkowska is a legal advisor at TRIAL International, a specialist in business and human rights and a practicing solicitor. Her work focuses on corporate accountability relating to private security and military actors, the responsibility of the arms industry and transnational crime in Latin America. She holds a BA from the University of Oxford and an LLM from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Email: j [dot] mieszkowska [at] trialinternational [dot] org || LinkedIn
Kaya Nadesan is the Communications Officer at International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW) and Explosive Weapons Monitor (EWM) where she supports their advocacy and research through communications. Her interests include humanitarian disarmament and implications of explosive weapons, particularly in the Global South. Email: kaya [at] article36 [dot] org II LinkedIn
Anna Provan is a Peace & Security Programme Manager at the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy (CFFP). She co-leads CFFP’s work on feminist peace and security, exploring topics related to gender-responsive arms control, the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda, feminist peacebuilding, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence (AI). Email: anna [at] centreforffp [dot] org II LinkedIn
Ruth Rohde is a researcher and project coordinator at Shadow World Investigations UK. She is also co-founder and programme manager at the Corruption Tracker project. Rohde holds an M.A. in International History and Politics from the Geneva Graduate Institute. Her research currently focuses on the arms trade in the war in Yemen and corruption in the arms trade. Email ruth [at] shadowworldinvestigations [dot] org || @ruth4peace
Rima Rusnac is a PhD candidate in international psychology at the Chicago School who hopes to be a peace negotiator in the future. She holds a master's degree in diplomacy from Norwich University and is fluent in multiple languages. Rusnac is also a highly decorated 12-year U.S. Army veteran and member of the special operations community. Email: rusnacrima [at] gmail [dot] com || @RimaRusnac || LinkedIn
Esra Serim is a lecturer at the European School of Political and Social Sciences (ESPOL) and an associate researcher at the University of Bordeaux in France, writing about nuclear and conventional weapons. Her research interests include drones, missiles, and arms trade. She graduated from Sciences Po d’Aix, France with a PhD degree in Political Science and was a visiting researcher at George Washington University. Email: esraserim [at] yahoo [dot] fr || @esraserimm || LinkedIn
Ellie Shackleton interest is the environmental impacts of the arms trade. She holds a BA in International Studies from American University, and an MA in International Affairs from the New School. Email: ellie [dot] esbenshade [at] gmail [dot] com || @missellieanne || LinkedIn
Chiara Torelli is doing an LLM in Transnational Crime and Justice, after having worked for two years as Action on Armed Violence's Head of Explosive Violence Research. There, she ran the Explosive Weapons Monitoring Project and worked alongside INEW members towards the November 2022 Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas.. Email: torellic95 [at] gmail [dot] com
Sannimari Veini is a PhD candidate in international law at the Justus Liebig University Giessen and through April 2025 was an associated researcher at CBWNet and PRIF. Her research focuses on chemical weapons and the interaction of the regime with other fields of law. Email: sannimari [dot] veini [at] gmail [dot] com II LinkedIn II Twitter: @SannimariVeini
Rahul Wankhede is a PhD candidate at the Jawaharlal Nehru University Special Centre for National Security Studies, New Delhi. Email: mailforsme [at] gmail [dot] com II LinkedIn II Twitter: @rahulw_dss