In February 2012, I took up the post of Deputy Director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Prior to this, I was Professor of International Politics at Aberystwyth University in Wales, UK. I study and teach on issues of terrorism, po
litical violence, war, security, peace and conflict resolution. I have published several academic books on these topics, including those below. I am also the editor-in-chief of the academic journal, Critical Studies on Terrorism, and I love playing guitar and fly-fishing. In early 2014, my first novel will be published by Zed Books. It is a thriller which explores the mind and motivation of a terrorist. The blogs I write here are personal expressions of opinion and do not in any way reflect or represent the views of my past or present employers. 
richardjacksonterrorismblog 
Richard,
I love your blog. Your words are compelling and you write so eloquently. I have been reading your work for some time now and I can’t think of anyone on this planet who is more aligned with my research interests. I wrote my MA thesis in Peace and Conflict Studies on terrorism. It was entitled Blinded by the Right: The Discourse of Terrorism. Do you happen to supervise PhD students?
Thank you for your kind words. Please send me an email to my Aberystwyth address so we can discuss your PhD idea some time.
Never thought of it that way.
Hey! Delighted to have found this blog, I was a big fan of CTS when I was at uni, and my dissertation was inspired by it. One new regular reader here! All the best!
Thanks! Welcome!
Hello! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I really enjoy reading your posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same topics? Many thanks!
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Dear Richard Jackson, so great to finally find your blog. I have come across some of your outstanding works on Critical Terrorism Studies.Critical Terrorism Studies: An Explanation, a Defence and a Way Forward has actually inspired my proposed Ethnographic study of impact or counterterrorism discourses and practice’s on publics. I will like to ask sir, how possible it is to combine critical discourse with the Welsh school, mainly Immanent Critique and Emancipation. Thanks
Hi my name is Matthew Jones and I am a third year journalism student. I am currently doing my dissertation for university and it would be great if you could answer a couple of questions for me please?
The topic is about the decline of young people wearing a poppy and the social pressures of wearing a poppy on Remembrance Sunday.
Thank you very much for your time and hope to be in touch soon. My email is mattyjones2510@gmail.com
Matthew.
Sorry, I have just seen this. If it’s still relevant please send your questions to my work email address.
Hi Richard,
I was looking for some information on Terrorism today when I came across your post: Confessions of a terrorist sympathiser.
Great stuff!
It’s Coincidental: I actually just published an article on Terrorism last week, which has been well received by facebook community. Let me know if you want to check it out.
Cheers,
Divij
PS – Sorry to use the comments field in absence of a Mail ID
Thanks. What’s the link to your article?
Hello, Mr. Jackson. I am an 8th-grade student doing a project on terrorism. I have a few questions I am researching for a presentation on the 9th; could you please answer them via email or talk with me on skype? Could you please share your opinion on/try to explain what causes terrorists to resort to terrorism, does terrorism play a role in society, and if so, what is it, and in what forms have terrorism existed throughout the ages?
I have just read the Confessions of a Terrorist which greatly impressed me as a little first step in understanding ourselves and others. But does fighting for freedom only mean a freedom from violence???? For me the next step is to define freedom as an absence of fascism. My definition of fascism is any action that forces others to conform to a ideology or religion. The problem is that people cannot see fascism in their own back yard. I live in a country New Zealand which is relatively free of violence, but our democracy is still being exploited by fascism. Many of our laws are based on beliefs, tradition and fascism. That a law has to be based on factual material has not come yet in the minds of the authorities. I like to point out our very limited morality laws. At best a morality law is made up of beliefs, traditional conditioning and a good dose of fascism. These laws are seriously lacking in understanding of human psychology. It is the same with the drug laws, they are totally lacking in the understanding of drug use and the quality or evils of the drugs involved. But the present laws are continuing to criminalize and persecute anybody who dares to go beyond the boundaries of these laws. This is pure fascism. The freedom I am looking for is the freedom of fascism and oppression, and this starts at home!
Hi Richard—I’m an American journalist, currently at work on Prodigal Children, a mainstream book on deradicalization programs around the world, anchored in the stories of three mothers who lost sons who went into deradicalization work. It’s due out next year from Spiegel & Grau, a Penguin/Random House imprint in the US.
I was fascinated by your interview in Weapon of the Strong, and really enjoyed the bits of the blog—and was thoroughly heartened by your call for academics to reach out and work with artists, writers, and film-makers to work on deconstructing the reigning stereotype of the terrorist.
A question: have you or anyone from Critical Studies on Terrorism come up with a figure on how much has been spent on CT research in the US or Europe since 9/11? A theme of the book is the shocking gap between funding and support for local ‘cottage industry’ programs working in communities, and the funding for research in the academic/think tank sphere.
All my thanks. If it’s easier to chat by phone or email about your thoughts about this, just let me know and I’ll Skype you. Meantime, thanks again for your much-needed work.
Best,
Carla (Power)
http://www.carlapower.com
Hi Carla,
Thanks for your comment. It’d be easier to respond by email. Please email me at: richard.jackson@otago.ac.nz. I may not know the answer to your question, but I could put you in touch with people who might know.