Erica Gaston was a non-resident fellow at the New America and the Global Public Policy Institute.
Her research focuses on the impact of local, substate, or other hybrid security forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. Previously Gaston led the Afghanistan and Yemen rule of law portfolios for the United States Institute of Peace and helped found the Afghanistan-Pakistan Regional Policy Initiative at the Open Society Foundations. Her academic work has focused on emerging norms and practices of the Law of Armed Conflict, including recent articles on expansive unit and individual self-defense and on mercenaries and private security companies in the Harvard International Law Journal and Harvard National Security Law Journal, and a three-volume introductory series on changing norms and practices in 21st century conflict. Gaston holds and a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Stanford University. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Politics and International Studies from the University of Cambridge.