Erica Gaston is a non-resident fellow with the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin and a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge. Her research focus is on local, hybrid, and sub-state forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria: both the current role and impact of these forces, and different accountability or control mechanisms applied by supporting countries. Her past projects with GPPi have included assessing changing interpretations of soldier and unit self-defense and the impact for civilian protection and international humanitarian law; developing strategies for implementing the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit commitments on harmonizing reporting; and facilitating the development of conflict mitigation and transformation strategies in Yemen.