Allison is a political economist with extensive research experience both in academia and policy-making organizations like international law firms, the UK Government, and NGO and INGO organisations. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, she has contributed analysis to projects on resource allocation, state building, and institutional development.
Allison holds an MPhil degree in Modern Middle East Studies and is in the final year of her DPhil in Politics, both at the University of Oxford. She has conducted fieldwork across the MENA region for over eight years, particularly in Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt. Her DPhil dissertation stands at the intersection of comparative politics and development economics and unpacks the political and economic impacts of land redistribution on state capacity with a focus on Iraq and Jordan.
Allison has integrated her academic background into several research roles. Before her post-graduate work, Allison worked as an international dispute resolution specialist in Washington DC and London where she handled cases from the Lebanese civil war. Later, she co-established a data analysis programme at WaterSHED Asia in Phnom Penh, Cambodia to increase the efficiency of the organization’s service delivery. Allison also contributed research assistance to the initial drafts of UK Stabilisation Guidance for the Stabilisation Unit.