Ayesha Siddiqa (; born 7 April 1966) is a Pakistani

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

, and an author who serves as a

research associate Research associates are researchers (scholars and professionals) that usually have an advanced degree beyond a Bachelor's degree such as a master's degree or a PhD. In some universities/research institutes, such as Harvard/Harvard Medical Scho ...

at the SOAS South Asia Institute. She previously served as the inaugural Pakistan Fellow at the

Woodrow Wilson Center The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank dedicated to research and policy discussions on global issues. Established by an act of Congress in 1968, it serves as both ...

between 2004 and 2005.

Biography

Born in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, Siddiqa studied at Kinnaird College and went on to join the

Civil Service of Pakistan The Central Superior Services (CSS; or Civil Service) is a permanent elite civil service authority and the civil service that is responsible for running the bureaucratic operations and government secretariats and directorates of the Cabinet of ...

. As a civil servant, Siddiqa served as the director of naval research with the

Pakistan Navy The Pakistan Navy (PN) (; ''romanized'': Pākistān Bahrí'a; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Com ...

, making her the first civilian and the first woman to work at that position in Pakistan's defence establishment. She also worked in military accounts and as deputy director Defence Services Audit. Siddiqa moved to London, where she received her PhD from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

war studies War studies, sometimes called polemology, is the multi-disciplinary study of war. It pertains to the military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfa ...

. After leaving the civil service, she served as the senior research fellow at the

Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force B ...

and went on to teach at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

and the

Quaid-e-Azam University Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), founded as the University of Islamabad, is a Public university, public research university in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially dedicated to postgraduate educat ...

. She also served as the Charles Wallace Fellow at

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics, politic ...

in 2015. She has written extensively on the Pakistan military, and her research has covered issues varying from the Pakistan military's covert development of

military technology Military technology is the application of technology for use in warfare. It comprises the kinds of technology that are distinctly military in nature and not civilian in application, usually because they lack useful or legal civilian application ...

, defensive

game theory Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions. It has applications in many fields of social science, and is used extensively in economics, logic, systems science and computer science. Initially, game theory addressed ...

, nuclear deterrence, arms procurement and arms production, to civil-military relations in Pakistan.

Bibliography

After leaving the bureaucracy, she authored ''Pakistan's Arms Procurement and Military Buildup, 1979–99: In Search of a Policy'', 2001, and later, in 2007, published her critically acclaimed book: '' Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan's Military Economy.'' She also regularly writes critical columns for

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

newspapers, including ''Dawn'', ''Daily Times'', ''

The Friday Times ''The Friday Times'' (TFT) is a Pakistani English-language online publication based in Lahore, Pakistan. History ''The Friday Times'' was first published in May 1989. TFT's founder-editor Najam Sethi and publisher Jugnu Mohsin, a husband-and- ...

'' and '' Express Tribune''.

References

External links

Soldiers of Fortune - by Ayesha Siddiqa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siddiqa, Ayesha 1966 births Living people Pakistani women journalists Pakistani political scientists Johns Hopkins University faculty Pakistani military writers Ayesha Siddiqa Pakistani expatriates in the United Kingdom Pakistani expatriates in the United States Pakistani scholars Alumni of King's College London Peace and conflict scholars Kinnaird College for Women University alumni Writers from Islamabad Women military writers Pakistani scholars of Pakistan studies Military theorists Academic staff of Pakistan Naval War College Pakistan Army civilians Pakistan Navy civilians Pakistani women columnists Women political scientists Scientists from Islamabad