The Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) is pleased to announce Dr. Colin P. Clarke’s appointment as a Senior Research Fellow at the Ridgway Center, effective October 1.
Clarke is a Senior Research Fellow at The Soufan Center and an assistant teaching professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Clarke is also an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) - The Hague and a non-resident fellow in the Program on National Security at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI). He was previously a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, where he directed studies on ISIS financing, the future of terrorism and transnational crime, and lessons learned from all insurgencies between the end of World War II and 2009.
Dr. Clarke is a leading researcher who has published widely on terrorism, counter-terrorism, and transnational crime. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and several books, including Terrorism, Inc.: The Financing of Terrorism, Insurgency, and Irregular Warfare (ABC-CLIO, 2015) and After the Caliphate: The Islamic State and the Future Terrorist Diaspora (Polity, 2019). He also publishes frequently in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Lawfare, and many other policy-related journals and magazines. Clarke serves on the editorial board of Terrorism and Political Violence, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, and Perspectives on Terrorism.
He appears frequently in the media to discuss terrorism and has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and many other media outlets, while also appearing on CBS News, Fox News, Bloomberg, and other television news programs. He has testified several times before the U.S. Congress as an expert witness on terrorism-related issues. He received his Ph.D. from GSPIA in 2012, where he studied international security policy.
"I'm so thrilled to be joining the Ridgway Center as a Senior Research Fellow. For years, Ridgway was an intellectual sanctuary for me during my time as a doctoral student at GSPIA, and in many ways, the faculty and students at the Ridgway Center helped contribute to my growth as a scholar of terrorism and security studies. It feels like I'm coming home," Clarke said.
Michael Kenney, the new Wesley W. Posvar Chair in International Security Studies and Director of the Ridgway Center is delighted by Clarke’s return to the Ridgway Center.
“Since he graduated from GSPIA only eight years ago, Colin has established himself as one of the leading young scholars in terrorism studies. His published work is insightful, accessible, and highly relevant to counter-terrorism policy.”
Emphasizing Clarke’s strong fit for a policy school like GSPIA, Kenney adds, “We are fortunate to have Colin engaged with our students and faculty. He is already a vocal advocate of the School and his appointment as a Senior Research Fellow will increase the Ridgway Center’s profile and the policy relevance of our work.”