Conflict Policy

As Head of Global Policy and Advocacy at Saferworld, for almost a decade, I led evidence-based policy engagement on a wide range of themes and contexts towards all the major governments and multilateral institutions working on peace, security and development. Working closely with civil society networks and official allies, I helped craft global agreements on peace, governance and development themes, and played a significant role in the crafting of Sustainable Development Goal 16 on peaceful, just and inclusive societies. I have authored, edited or managed 90+ publications on conflict prevention, several with global policy impacts. I have regularly advised UK, Sweden, the UN, NGOs, foundations and other governments/agencies on conflict prevention – analysing context and developing strategies, portfolios and programmes. I offer outstanding verbal and written briefing skills, having presented to and briefed heads of state, ministers, heads of department and senior officials on numerous occasions on themes such as conflict prevention and sensitivity, stabilisation, counter-terror and preventing violent extremism, arms control, security governance and reform, community security, disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration, civic space and human rights. I maintain diverse relationships with organisations, practitioners and policy communities working on conflict, peace, security, development and human rights throughout the world.

Expertise and experience:

• Paths out of the polycrisis - 7-part podcast series for Rethinking Security on UK responses to global security challenges (Feb-June 2024)

• Member of the UK Government’s Civilian Stabilisation Group roster as a Conflict Prevention expert

• Practice guide: ‘Towards principled peacemaking: a playbook for security actors,’ Principles for Peace Foundation (forthcoming)

• 'Ready for the storm? Labour's Foreign and Security Thinking,' Labour Foreign Policy Group, Rethinking Security (September 2023)

• Rynn S, Jones M, Attree L, ‘Furthering Global Britain? Reviewing the Foreign Policy Effect of UK Engagement in East Africa - Occasional Paper,’ RUSI (August 2023)

• Academic outreach for the Rethinking Security network – building a group of experts and academics to grow conversations on UK domestic and international security (November 2022 - present)

• Article: ‘Russia’s Mobilisation and the Ghosts of 1914,’ Rethinking Security (7 November 2022)

• Podcast guest: ‘New perspectives on stabilisation,’ with Rachel Kleinfeld, Andrei Gomez-Suarez, Warpod (29 June 2022)

• Led and co-authored two strands of research for the FCDO-funded project ‘Stabilisation and resilience strategies: what works to address threats posed by violent criminal or proscribed groups?’ (2021-22)

• Provided strategic and operational advice to the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency in response to requests to the Saferworld, Bradford University and Stockholm Policy Group helpdesks on peace, human rights, rule of law and conflict sensitivity, including authoring a number of written reports from 2010 onwards

• Led Saferworld’s 2013, 2016 and 2020 External Environment Reviews and helped shape its 2014-17, 2017-21 and 2021-2025 Strategic Plans and policy/advocacy strategies

• Podcast guest: ‘Challenges facing international peace and stability,’ Warpod (19 Feb 2021)

• ‘Biden’s Global Priority No. 1: Turn the Authoritarian Tide,’ (Just Security, 8 Dec 2020)

• Attree L, Street J & Venchiarutti La, ‘UN peace operations in complex environments: charting the right course,’ Saferworld (2018)

• Member of the International Development Taskforce advising the UK Shadow Development Secretary on Labour’s 2018 green paper: ‘A World for the Many Not the Few: the Labour Party’s Vision for International Development,’ (Labour, 2018)

• Article: ‘Five challenges the UN’s “sustaining peace” agenda needs to address,’ (Saferworld, 2018)

• Long-read article: ‘Shouldn’t YOU be Countering Violent Extremism,’ (Saferworld, 2017)

• Policy brief with Sunil Suri: ‘A new war on terror or a new search for peace: lessons from Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen,’ (Saferworld, 2016)

• Article: ‘Will the SDSR be strategic enough about conflict prevention?’ (Saferworld, 2015)

• Report with David Keen: ‘Dilemmas of counterterror, stabilisation and statebuilding,’ (Saferworld, 2015)

• From 2010-2015, led Saferworld's research and advocacy efforts to ensure development focused more on conflict prevention and peacebuilding, including successfully advocating for inclusion of SDG16+ commitments to peace, justice and governance in the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, influencing the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States and the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation and a number of direct impacts on the policies of national governments, political parties, NGOs and international agencies

• Article with Anna Möller-Loswick: ‘Goal 16: Ensuring Peace in the Post-2015 Framework: Adoption, Implementation and Monitoring,’ UN Chronicle (Vol.LI No.4, 2015)

• Policy brief with David Keen: ‘Envisaging More Constructive Alternatives To The Counter-Terror Paradigm,’ (Saferworld, 2015)

• Speech to world leaders on the adoption of SDG16: ‘Mr Larry Attree, Saferworld,’ at UN Sustainable Development Summit 2015

• Policy brief with Sunil Suri, Anna Moeller Loswick, Thomas Wheeler and Ivan Campbell: ‘From the Sustainable Development Goals to the Post-2015 Development Framework: Building a Consensus for Peace,’ (Saferworld, 2014)

• Report with Tim Midgley, Thomas Wheeler et al.: ‘Defining and measuring the external stress factors that lead to conflict in the context of the post-2015 agenda,’ (Saferworld/CDA for DFID, 2014)

• Article: ‘The whole shebang? Why achieving development and security means working on governance,’ (ODI - post-2015.org & Saferworld comment, September 2013)

• Article with Sunil Suri: ‘A South African agenda for the post-2015 framework?’ (Saferworld comment, September 2013)

• Article: ‘An Integrated Vision for Peace and Development? Building on the High Level Panel's Report,’ Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, (Vol 8, No 2, 2013)

• Article: ‘From the High Level Panel report to an accountability framework,’ (Saferworld briefing, June 2013)

• Article: ‘High Level Panel report represents a transformative shift towards peace,’ (Saferworld comment, May 2013)

• Article: ‘Will the High Level Panel answer the world’s call for a progressive post-2015 framework?’ (Saferworld comment, April 2013)

• Policy brief with Hannah Wright: ‘Addressing conflict and violence from 2015: A Vision of Goals, Targets and Indicators,’ (Saferworld, February 2013) 

• Report with Henk-Jan Brinkman & Sasa Hezir: ‘Addressing horizontal inequalities as drivers of conflict in the post-2015 development agenda,’ (Saferworld/UN PBSO, February 2013)

• Policy brief with Erin McCandless, Diana Chigas, James Cox et al: ‘Joint submission to consultation on shared indicators,’ (CSO Platform for Peacebuilding & Statebuilding, January 2013)

• Policy brief with Shelagh Daley: ‘UN High Level Panel framing questions,’ (Saferworld submission, January 2013)

• Policy brief with Sara Skinner: ‘Addressing conflict and violence from 2015 - Issue Paper 1: The impact of conflict and violence on achieving development,’ (Saferworld, November 2012)

• Policy brief: ‘Addressing conflict and violence from 2015 - Issue Paper 2: What are the key challenges? What works in addressing them?’ (Saferworld, November 2012)

• Policy brief with Ivan Campbell, Rob Muggah, Dan Large & Thomas Wheeler: ‘Addressing conflict and violence from 2015 - Issue Paper 3: Rising powers and conflict,’ (Saferworld, November 2012)

• Policy brief: Global CSO Joint Statement, ‘Bringing peace into the post-2015 development framework,’ (September 2012)

• Policy brief with Hannah Wright & Simon Gray: ‘Approaching post-2015 from a peace perspective,’ (Saferworld briefing, September 2012)

• Article: ‘Post-2015: treading the path to peace,’ (Saferworld blog, August 2012)

• Coordinated civil society inputs into meetings of the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding with a focus on conflict sensitivity, inclusion and accountability in donor-state-society relationships, and helped establish the CSO Platform for Peacebuilding & Statebuilding

• Policy brief with Erin McCandless et al.: ‘Fulfilling New Deal commitments: Recommendations from civil society on maximising peacebuilding results,’ (CSO Platform for Peacebuilding & Statebuilding, August 2012)

• Policy brief with BOND et al, ‘Aid effectiveness in contexts of poor governance, conflict and fragility: A statement by UK relief, development and peacebuilding agencies ahead of Busan,’ (UK Development NGOs’ joint statement, September 2011)

• Policy brief with Ivan Campbell & Katrina Aitken: ‘A big step forward – a long path ahead: Saferworld response to the World Development Report 2011,’ (Saferworld, May 2011)

• Policy brief with Duncan Hiscock: ‘What hope for development without peace? Rethinking budget support to promote peace and EU values,’ (Saferworld, January 2011)

• Policy brief with Duncan Hiscock: ‘No peace, no security, no justice – no long-term impact’: Saferworld contribution to the consultation on the EU Green Paper: EU development policy in support of inclusive growth and sustainable development – Increasing the impact of EU development policy’ (Saferworld, January 2011)

• Report with S Keethaponcalan, ‘“The Practice of Conflict-Sensitivity – concept to impact” Donor Policy and conflict sensitivity in Sri Lanka - A literature review,” (Saferworld/CSA Consortium)

• Supported strengthening of conflict prevention and peacebuilding architecture in the Pacific region under UNDP’s regional PEACEPAC programme