Dr Zahid Shahab Ahmed is a Research Fellow at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalization, Deakin University, Australia. Prior to joining Deakin University in April 2016, he was Assistant Professor of peace and conflict studies at Centre for International Peace and Stability, National University of Sciences and Technology, Pakistan. Dr Ahmed earned a PhD in politics and international relations from University of New England in Australia and an MA in peace education from University for Peace in Costa Rica.

Prior to joining academia, Dr Ahmed worked in international development with a particular focus on peacebuilding. He has worked with numerous international organizations, including Prince Claus Fund, United States Institute of Peace, Hedayah, Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and Friedrich Ebert Foundation. He has not only designed peace education programs but has also organized more than 50 workshops on related topics, such as do no harm/conflict sensitive program planning, and preventing violent extremism through education, in Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Thailand, Nepal, Indonesia, and Uganda.

For over a decade, Dr Ahmed has been carrying out extensive peace research. His research particularly focuses on the issues of peace and security, for example, violent religious extremism, in South Asia. His papers have been published in the following prestigious journals: Democratization, Global Policy, South Asia Research, Asian Studies Review, The Muslim World, and International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society. He is also the author of Regionalism and Regional Security in South Asia: The Case of SAARC(New York: Routledge, 2013).

Dr Ahmed is proficient in English and also has language skills in Urdu and Punjabi. He enjoys traveling the world to promote peace.

Dr. Ahmed received a Peace Research Grant from the IPRA Foundation in 2007 for his project “Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment (PCIA): The Analysis of International Development Interventions in Pakistan.”