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About
Victoria Jones is pursuing a PhD in International History at the LSE, where her research examines how the United States engaged with and used Islam as part of its Cold War strategy. Her work explores the intersection of religion, ideology, and geopolitics, tracing how US policymakers interpreted Islamic identity and partnered with Muslim actors in pursuit of strategic influence across the Muslim world.
She is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Asia-Pacific Foundation, where she examines soft and sharp power as well as the role of religion in diplomacy, having conducted primary source research in the Himalayas and Kashmir. In parallel, her experience as a Subject Matter Expert with NATO’s Defence Education Enhancement Programme has included delivering courses on ideology and extremism to security and defense education institutions in Jordan and Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a Richard and Susan Hayden Academy Fellow at Chatham House, Victoria carried out fieldwork in Argentina and Kenya to investigate influence campaigns and global perceptions of US leadership.
She holds an MSc in the History of International Relations from the LSE and a BA in Political Science and Philosophy, with a minor in History, from the University of Chicago.
Provisional title: The Enemy of My Enemy: America’s Use of Islam During the Cold War
Supervisor: David Motadel
Research cluster: Contemporary International History and the Global Cold War
Research interests: US foreign policy, religion in diplomacy, Islamic world, Cold War.