Faculty

Dr. Bryan Arva is a researcher at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland. He has worked on numerous projects at START, including the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS). His research and teaching interests include terrorism, counterterrorism, homeland security, radicalization, preventing violent extremism, and the effects of new information and communications technologies (ICTs) on political violence.

Dr. Nazli Avdan is an associate professor of political science at the University of Kansas, where she also directs the graduate program. She studies international migration and border policies, the security migration nexus, and international security and political violence, including specifically the causes and consequences of terrorism. Dr. Avdan’s work has been published in many of the leading political science and international relations journals. She teaches courses on foreign policy, terrorism, and migration policies.

Dr. Justin Conrad is an associate professor of international affairs. He studies international security issues, including terrorism and interstate conflict, and his research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense. Dr. Conrad's work has been published in many of the leading political science, security studies, and international relations journals. He has also worked in the international private sector and served as a U.S. military officer.

Dr. Paul Gill's research focuses on violent extremist behavior. It is interdisciplinary in nature, with publications in leading political science, psychology, criminology, mathematics, and general science journals. He teaches on the causes and correlates of terrorism.

Dr. Amira Jadoon is an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences and a research associate in the Combating Terrorism Center at the United States Military Academy at West Point. She specializes in international security, economic statecraft, and political violence, with a regional focus on South and Central Asia. Prior to beginning her career in academia and research, Dr. Jadoon worked as a consultant for Deloitte London (U.K.) between 2006-2011.

John Morrison has an interdisciplinary background in psychology, international relations and criminology. His teaching and research interests reflect this. He is particularly interested in the role of trust in terrorist involvement, and the broader psychology of terrorism.

Dr. James Piazza is a liberal arts professor of political science at Penn State. His research and teaching focus on terrorism, counterterrorism, and the politics of the Islamic world.

Brandon Sims teaches quantitative and qualitative research methods in international relations and peace studies at the School of International Service at American University and at Penn State. He is a research assistant in Security Sector Governance at the U. S. Institute of Peace. His research focuses on the causes and consequences of non-violent, violent, and self-violent conflict, and is supported by the U.S. Institute of Peace; Dept. of Defense Minerva Research Initiative; International Center on Nonviolent Conflict; and the Peace and Violence Lab, American University.

Dr. Itai N. Sneh's research and teaching focuses on the history of human rights; American presidential, diplomatic, legal, and political history; international law; terrorism; genocide; Israel; and the Middle East. He is currently working on two books: Torture through Ages of Injustice: Oppressive Power Regimes, Anti Reconciliation, and Untruths and The Encrusted Underside of Glory: Injustice, Inequality, and Struggles in American Legal History.

Dr. Andrew Vitek is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Political Science. His research focuses on terrorism, political violence, security studies, and pedagogy. He teaches courses on terrorism, homeland security, and comparative politics.

Dr. James Walsh's research and teaching interests include political violence and terrorism, civil war, human rights violations, and intelligence and national security. He is the author of three books, including Drones and Support for the Use of Force, available from The University of Michigan Press. His work has been supported by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Homeland Security, the Army Research Office, and the Minerva Research Initiative.