Date: 29 April 2026
Time: 14:00 – 15:00 BST
Location: Online
This webinar investigates how trafficking hubs located in contested borderlands function as strategic nodes within global illicit supply chains. The discussion explores how local dynamics intersect with transnational crime, sanctions evasion, and broader geopolitical processes. By linking micro-level realities with global systems of exchange, the session highlights how borderland spaces play a pivotal role in the production and management of insecurity.
This is the fourth of a six‑part webinar series organised by the the Global Security Programme at the University of Oxford. The brings together leading scholars and practitioners to examine how conflict, governance, and illicit flows interact across borders, highlighting the growing significance of borderlands and emerging technologies. It will explore cross-border economies, trafficking networks, political transitions, and intervention dynamics, fostering policy-relevant, globally grounded debate.
Speakers:
Dr Elizabeth Joyce
A senior official at the United Nations, currently serving as a Chief of Section within the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED). She is a leading expert on global counter-terrorism strategies and the implementation of Security Council resolutions.
Ashleigh Whelan
Ashleigh Whelan is a Research Associate with the Global Security Programme, focusing on the impact of cross-border illicit and informal trade in Iraq and Syria under the XCEPT Research Fund. She is Managing Director at Roya Development Group, where she leads applied political economy analyses, multi-stage research initiatives, and advisory work on governance reform and public-sector modernization across Iraq and the wider Middle East. Her research portfolio includes political economy mapping, institutional diagnostics, and the design of sectoral and cross-cutting assessments for clients such as the European Union, World Bank, USAID, the U.S. State Department, UN Women, GIZ, and the National Endowment for Democracy.
Mo Salah
A policy Practitioner and Consultant for the Global Security Programme.
Moderator:
Dr Annette Idler
An Associate Professor in Global Security, Blavatnik School of Government, and Founding Director of the Global Security Programme at Oxford’s Pembroke College. She studies evolving security dynamics in the context of armed conflict and the global illicit economy, transitions from war to peace, and state responses to insecurity. She is the author of Borderland Battles: Violence, Crime, and Governance at the Edges of Colombia’s War and co-editor of Transforming the War on Drugs: Warriors, Victims, and Vulnerable Regions. Her work has appeared in journals such as World Politics, International Studies Quarterly, and the Journal of Global Security Studies. Her work has been highly esteemed and recognised internationally. She also won the 2020 University of Oxford’s Vice Chancellor Innovation Award for her work on “Re-thinking Conflict, Building Peace”. Dr Idler advises governments and international organisations and is a regular expert for internationally renowned media outlets.