Jérôme Drevon
Author · Scholar · Speaker

Dr. Jérôme Drevon

Research Associate, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID)
Fellow, Centre on Armed Groups
Quoted & Featured In

Three books tracing insurgent transformation

From emergence through institutionalisation, politicisation, and governance — grounded in field research and interviews with armed group leaders and fighters.

New
2025 · Hurst / Oxford University Press

Transformed by the People

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's Road to Power in Syria

HTS's journey from besieged al-Qaeda affiliate to conservative Islamist government — based on interviews with Ahmad al-Sharaa and HTS leaders.

Open Access
2024 · Oxford University Press

From Jihad to Politics

How Syrian Jihadis Embraced Politics

How the two largest Syrian jihadi groups rejected global jihad and cultivated ties with populations, opposition, and states.

Open Access
2022 · Oxford University Press

Institutionalizing Violence

Strategies of Jihad in Egypt

How Egyptian jihadi groups made divergent strategic decisions despite sharing the same ideology.

Core areas of inquiry

01

Armed Group Transformation

How ideologically driven organisations become pragmatic, engage in governance, and seek political legitimacy over time.

02

Insurgent Governance & Authority

Institution-building beyond the state — how armed actors create structures of administration, social control, and contested authority.

03

Jihadi Strategic Adaptation

The evolution of transnational jihadi movements, their relocalisation, and the emergence of post-jihadi political forms.

Keynotes, briefings & expert consultations

Regular contributions to high-level policy dialogues, academic conferences, government consultations, and United Nations deliberations on armed groups, counter-terrorism, and sanctions.

70+

Events Worldwide

Keynote lectures, expert briefings, and strategic analysis for diplomatic, security, and humanitarian stakeholders across five continents.

30+

Universities

Invited lectures and seminars at Columbia, Oxford, LSE, ETH Zurich, Peking University, West Point, and many more.

22

Think Tanks & Policy Institutes

Carnegie, CSIS, ECFR, IISS, International Crisis Group, Middle East Institute, and leading policy research centres.