Professor
Dr. Jeffrey M. Bale has been studying violence-prone political and religious extremists for over four decades and has published many scholarly studies on terrorism, right-wing extremism, Islamism, apocalyptic millenarian groups and cults, potential CBRN use by terrorists and states, and covert political operations. He reads numerous foreign languages, has carried out specialized archival research in the United States as well as in several European countries, has personally interviewed extremists from several political and religious milieus, and has accumulated an extensive collection of primary source materials related to both extremist and terrorist groups and covert politics. His main focus in recent decades has been on various aspects of terrorist ideologies, motivations, and operational techniques.
Over the years Bale has been awarded a number of prestigious doctoral and postdoctoral research fellowships. He recently published a two-volume collection comprising many of his published and unpublished scholarly works, The Darkest Sides of Politics (Routledge). Peer reviewers have described him as “a remarkable scholar,” “the world’s leading expert on right-wing terrorism,” someone whose “qualifications for the study of terrorism…are unmatched,” and an expert with an unparalleled “depth and breadth of knowledge of extremist ideologies.” Since 9/11, he has often served as a consulting Subject Matter Expert (SME) for government agencies as well as private organizations on matters related to terrorism and ideological extremism.
NPTG 8633
Sem: Global JihadismCourse Description
This seminar is designed to provide a more in-depth examination of transnational jihadist organizations and networks with a global agenda, and is specifically intended for graduate students who have already taken lecture-oriented undergraduate or graduate courses dealing with terrorism. The class will be divided into three separate portions. During the first portion, after a session devoted to the provision of basic information about terrorism, terrorism research methods, Islam, and Islamism, everyone in the class will read chapters from a series of important recent books that deal with global jihadist networks and their objectives. Given the threat that such networks and their supporters currently pose to the security of the West, Russia, India, various states in Asia, and moderate Muslims everywhere, it is necessary for every student interested in terrorism to become much more knowledgeable about the jihadist agenda. During the second portion of the course, students will spend their time working independently on the individual research topics they have selected, which can deal with any aspect of terrorism that interests them. During the third and final portion, each student will give an oral report in class to present and analyze his or her research findings, which will then be discussed by the entire class. Near the end of this last portion of the class, if not earlier, students must submit their completed research papers. The course requirements are as follows: regular attendance and active participation in class discussions (30% of grade), an oral report to be delivered in class (30% of grade), and a 15-20 page research paper (40% of grade).
Terms Taught
Bale’s areas of interest include terrorism, political and religious extremism, insurgency and counterinsurgency, unconventional warfare, intelligence and covert operations, conspiracy theories, comparative revolutionary movements, rock ’n’ roll-oriented youth subcultures and countercultures, terrorism and “weapons of mass destruction,” organized crime, European history and politics, Middle Eastern history and politics, Islamic history, military history, international politics, and political philosophy.
Bale teaches the introductory lecture course on terrorism that is required for all students in the Institute’s Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies program, a wide array of advanced seminars dealing with particular types of violent ideological extremism, and also an advanced seminar on “State Terrorism.”
Professor Bale has been teaching at the Institute since 2002.
| by Jessie Raymond
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