Amena El Ashkar is a former research assistant at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies. Before joining the team, Amena worked for the Institute of Palestine Studies in Beirut as an editor and in translating the daily Hebrew news section. She has also been a journalist at various tv channels and writes for several websites in Arabic and English.

Amena is a recipient of the British government Chevening scholarship. She finished her MA in Israeli studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS, with distinction. She received her BA in Translation and Interpretation of Arabic, English & French from the Lebanese International University in Beirut. Currently, upon receiving the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) PhD studentship, Amena is pursuing her MPhil/PhD at the department of International Relations in the field of statecraft and security. Amena is interested in research about counterinsurgency, collaboration, civilian mobilization, and proxy wars.