About Sara de Jong

CO CHAIR

Sara de Jong

Sara de Jong, Professor in Politics at the University of York (UK), serves as co-chair of Local Staff International (LSI). She is also a co-founder of Sulha Alliance, the only UK charity specialised in supporting Afghan interpreters employed by the British Army. Her research, which investigates the claims to rights and protection by Iraqi and Afghan interpreters, other local employed civilians and their advocates, was inspired by the observation that from early colonial conquest to Vietnam, Algeria and Afghanistan, locally recruited staff have always played an essential, but ultimately precarious role in (neo-)imperial wars and governance. 

Soon after she commenced her research in 2017, it became apparent that the lack of international coordination between national programmes to protect local staff, assisting international missions, led to unequal outcomes for local staff that had performed the same role and faced the same risk. In response, she started connecting advocates from the US, UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, and Australia, to share strategies and best practices. 

She has deployed her research findings to raise awareness about inconsistencies between different resettlement programmes, which helped shape significant policy changes in the UK and the Netherlands. Sara is committed to working with and bridging divides between relevant stakeholders, including veterans, lawyers, politicians, and NGOs, bringing her academic expertise and long-standing voluntary experience in the refugee non-profit sector.