Jacob's research interests include Middle Eastern politics, conflict, and conflict resolution, particularly in the context of post-war recovery and peace building. He has done extensive research on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly the failed peace process and third-party mediation. His first book, Small-state Mediation in International Conflicts: Diplomacy and Negotiation in Israel-Palestine was published by IB Tauris in 2015, and he has published articles in Middle East Policy and Global Affairs on external engagement in the conflict. He continues to research the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and small-state mediation more broadly.

 

His current research project, funded by the C and JB Morrell Trust, is on Iraq's post-ISIS recovery, focusing in particular on issues of governance, transitional justice, and reconciliation. He is interested in exploring the relationship between these processes and the continuing ISIS insurgency, and how they can contribute to building long-term peace. He is the co-editor, together with Dr Ahmed Khaleel, of Iraq after ISIS: The challenges of post-war recovery, published by Palgrave in 2018.