Alissa de Carbonnel (MPP 2014) is Deputy Program Director for Europe and Central Asia at the International Crisis Group, where she oversees research, analysis and advocacy on issues pertaining to security and conflict in the region.
Alissa brings over a decade of experience as a journalist to her current role, which she describes as requiring a blend of academic, journalistic and public policy thinking. Having worked for major media organisations including Reuters and Agence France-Presse, she now finds herself writing for a much more targeted audience. The International Crisis Group is funded by a mixture of governments, private donors and foundations; its relationships with these stakeholders means that the group’s reports reach decision-makers who are at the heart of the issues in question – from diplomats to government officials.
“A large part of my job consists of talking to our stakeholders about our findings and exchanging ideas. The reports, based on extensive field research, are a tool that enable us to be part of conversations with those at the highest levels of policymaking.”
Alissa’s current role has parallels with her journalism career in terms of approach and methodology: conducting field research and understanding who to speak with in order to get a balanced picture, the political sensitivities that inform how content should be framed, and the need to uphold high standards of accuracy. Her recent work has focused on rising tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.
For Alissa, the Master of Public Policy (MPP) was an opportunity to take a step back from the intensive rhythm of her journalism work – where she reported on issues including conflict in Ukraine and Islamist insurgency in Russia’s North Caucasus. “The breadth of the programme allowed me to move from the regionally focused work I had been engaged in to explore a broader range of policy issues.”
Alissa is now fulfilling the aspirations that initially motivated her decision to apply for the MPP: “I had been thinking about how to become part of the solution to some of the suffering I saw in my reporting. Work with Crisis Group felt like a way to do that.”
July 2021.