Assaf Moghadam

Assaf Moghadam, a nonresident fellow at the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point, is Associate Professor at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Israel, and Director of Academic Affairs at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), also at IDC. Prof. Moghadam previously served in a variety of positions at the CTC, including Director of Terrorism Studies. At West Point, Prof. Moghadam was also an Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Sciences, teaching courses on terrorism and international relations.

Prof. Moghadam’s research examines the dynamics in terrorist organizations. His forthcoming book, Dangerous Liaisons: Global Jihad and the Evolution of Terrorist Cooperation (Columbia University Press, 2015), examines empirical and theoretical aspects of cooperative behavior between terrorist entities. Prof. Moghadam is the author of two books, The Globalization of Martyrdom: Al Qaeda, Salafi Jihad, and the Diffusion of Suicide Attacks (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008/ Paperback edition 2011) and The Roots of Terrorism (Chelsea House, 2006). He is the editor of Militancy and Political Violence in Shiism: Trends and Patterns (Routledge, 2012/2013) and co-editor (with Brian Fishman) of Fault Lines in Global Jihad: Organizational, Strategic, and Ideological Fissures (Routledge, 2011/2013). Two of Prof. Moghadam’s books are listed among the top 150 books on terrorism in the journal Perspectives on Terrorism.

Prof. Moghadam has lectured widely on terrorism issues before audiences in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East and has consulted a number of government agencies on terrorism-related issues. A leading expert on suicide missions, Prof. Moghadam serves on the editorial boards of Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Democracy and Security, and Perspectives on Terrorism. His articles have appeared in International Security, Security Studies, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Terrorism and Political Violence, Perspectives on Terrorism, CTC Sentinel, Boston Globe, International Herald Tribune, and other outlets. Prof. Moghadam has also authored various chapters in edited volumes, and his book reviews have appeared in Perspectives in Politics, Political Science Quarterly, Transcultural Psychiatry, and Democracy and Security, among other journals.

Prof. Moghadam held pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and at the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard. He holds a Ph.D. in international relations and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD), both from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and a B.A. in political science from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.