Oliver Walton is a Reader in International Development specialising in the political economy of war-to-peace transitions, NGO politics, aid policy, conflict, and peacebuilding. 

His research focuses on the political economy of war to peace transitions, civil society, NGOs and NGO legitimacy. Recent work has examined the role of borderlands and brokers in post-war transitions in Nepal and Sri Lanka, UK aid policy, protest movements, and the relationship between conflict and social welfare.

My teaching focuses on two areas: (1) the politics of development (with a particular focus on South Asia) and (2) the intersections between conflict, development and peacebuilding. 

In 2019, I was the joint winner of the University's Mary Tasker Award for excellence in teaching

Oliver is Director of Learning and Teaching for the Department of Social and Policy Sciences.

Prior to joining the University of Bath in March 2013, he worked as a Research Fellow at the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre (GSDRC), based at the University of Birmingham. He completed a PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) in 2010, which focused on national NGOs involved in peacebuilding in Sri Lanka. He has experience of working for a range of NGOs in the UK and Sri Lanka, and has worked as a consultant and evaluator for a number of donor agencies (including DFID, UNDP, NORAD, OECD and AusAID).