Mary Beth Altier
Dr. Mary Beth Altier is a Clinical Associate Professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs where she leads the Masters’ Degree concentration in Transnational Security and Initiative on Emerging Threats. She received her PhD and MA in Politics from Princeton University and BAs in Mathematics and History from Drew University.
Dr. Altier’s interests are in international security, political violence, political behavior, nationalism, and ethnic conflict. She has over ten years’ experience researching the disengagement and reintegration of violent extremists. This work includes large-scale literature reviews, the compilation and analysis of quantitative datasets, and in-depth interviews with individuals across a range of violent extremist ideologies (Islamist, far right, ethno-nationalist). Dr. Altier’s other research examines popular support for armed political parties in developed and developing democracies. Her work has been published in a number of journals including International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Peace Research, Security Studies, Terrorism and Political Violence, and Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. She serves on the editorial boards of Terrorism and Political Violence, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Perspectives on Terrorism, Journal for Deradicalization, and Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression. Dr. Altier is a member of the RESOLVE Network’s Research Advisory Council and has been invited to present her research to various government audiences and international organizations including NATO, Europol, and the UN. She has also published in The Washington Post and Lawfare and been quoted in various media outlets including PBS, WIRED, USA Today, Vox, and The Daily Beast.
At the Center for Global Affairs, Professor Altier teaches courses in Transnational Security, Transnational Terrorism, Security Sector Governance and the Rule of Law, and Analytic Skills. She also runs Consulting Practicums with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the US State Department’s Global Engagement Center as well as a Global Field Intensive to Belfast and London. Dr. Altier received the NYU SPS Excellence in Teaching Award in 2017 and 2023 and also serves as Co-Director of Faculty Research at the School of Professional Studies.
Dr. Altier’s interests are in international security, political violence, political behavior, nationalism, and ethnic conflict. She has over ten years’ experience researching the disengagement and reintegration of violent extremists. This work includes large-scale literature reviews, the compilation and analysis of quantitative datasets, and in-depth interviews with individuals across a range of violent extremist ideologies (Islamist, far right, ethno-nationalist). Dr. Altier’s other research examines popular support for armed political parties in developed and developing democracies. Her work has been published in a number of journals including International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Peace Research, Security Studies, Terrorism and Political Violence, and Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. She serves on the editorial boards of Terrorism and Political Violence, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Perspectives on Terrorism, Journal for Deradicalization, and Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression. Dr. Altier is a member of the RESOLVE Network’s Research Advisory Council and has been invited to present her research to various government audiences and international organizations including NATO, Europol, and the UN. She has also published in The Washington Post and Lawfare and been quoted in various media outlets including PBS, WIRED, USA Today, Vox, and The Daily Beast.
At the Center for Global Affairs, Professor Altier teaches courses in Transnational Security, Transnational Terrorism, Security Sector Governance and the Rule of Law, and Analytic Skills. She also runs Consulting Practicums with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the US State Department’s Global Engagement Center as well as a Global Field Intensive to Belfast and London. Dr. Altier received the NYU SPS Excellence in Teaching Award in 2017 and 2023 and also serves as Co-Director of Faculty Research at the School of Professional Studies.
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Journal Articles by Mary Beth Altier
account supports several claims in the literature. First, there is rarely any single cause associated with individual disengagement. Rather, the phenomenon is a dynamic process shaped by a multitude of interacting push/pull factors, sunk costs and the perceived availability of alternatives outside the group. Second, as
this case illustrates, prison affords physical separation from the violent extremist group and with it, time to reflect which may be critical to sustaining disengagement. Third, this account illustrates how de-radicalization may be a long-term process, and may in some cases supersede rather than precede one’s exit, even where
disillusionment precedes disengagement. Finally, Sarah’s case suggests the successful adoption of a new social role and sense of identity as a potentially important protective factor in reducing the risk of re-engagement.
radicalization has revealed that the causes of terrorist recidivism are poorly understood. Studies of terrorist recidivism are virtually non-existent, which is surprising given that most critiques of terrorist de-radicalization programs are anchored in debates about the nature and extent of recidivism in the population of terrorist offenders. We seek to begin to redress this void in the literature by developing a series of theoretical, conceptual, and methodological starting points for thinking about terrorist recidivism that are closely informed by advances in criminology. While we find the definition of recidivism and its causes are often contested in the field of criminology, there are significant lessons that can inform the study of terrorist recidivism.
Conference Papers/Drafts by Mary Beth Altier
engage in violence in democracies. However, few studies systematically examine the
effects of such violence on their own electoral base. Utilizing a new dataset for 101
electoral districts across six local elections during Northern Ireland’s Troubles, as well as
archival, interview, and survey data, this study suggests votes for armed parties are
generated, in part, by violence, which signifies the presence or deepening of a security
crisis. Within-district increases in state and, in certain contexts, sectarian violence against Catholic civilians are associated with marked increases in support for Provisional Sinn Féin, the Provisional Irish Republican Army’s (PIRA’s) political party, even when
controlling for changes in Catholic unemployment, inter-communal electoral
competition, and levels of violence between the PIRA and the state. Vigilante attacks by
the PIRA on alleged criminals also increase support for the party.
Edited Books by Mary Beth Altier
account supports several claims in the literature. First, there is rarely any single cause associated with individual disengagement. Rather, the phenomenon is a dynamic process shaped by a multitude of interacting push/pull factors, sunk costs and the perceived availability of alternatives outside the group. Second, as
this case illustrates, prison affords physical separation from the violent extremist group and with it, time to reflect which may be critical to sustaining disengagement. Third, this account illustrates how de-radicalization may be a long-term process, and may in some cases supersede rather than precede one’s exit, even where
disillusionment precedes disengagement. Finally, Sarah’s case suggests the successful adoption of a new social role and sense of identity as a potentially important protective factor in reducing the risk of re-engagement.
radicalization has revealed that the causes of terrorist recidivism are poorly understood. Studies of terrorist recidivism are virtually non-existent, which is surprising given that most critiques of terrorist de-radicalization programs are anchored in debates about the nature and extent of recidivism in the population of terrorist offenders. We seek to begin to redress this void in the literature by developing a series of theoretical, conceptual, and methodological starting points for thinking about terrorist recidivism that are closely informed by advances in criminology. While we find the definition of recidivism and its causes are often contested in the field of criminology, there are significant lessons that can inform the study of terrorist recidivism.
engage in violence in democracies. However, few studies systematically examine the
effects of such violence on their own electoral base. Utilizing a new dataset for 101
electoral districts across six local elections during Northern Ireland’s Troubles, as well as
archival, interview, and survey data, this study suggests votes for armed parties are
generated, in part, by violence, which signifies the presence or deepening of a security
crisis. Within-district increases in state and, in certain contexts, sectarian violence against Catholic civilians are associated with marked increases in support for Provisional Sinn Féin, the Provisional Irish Republican Army’s (PIRA’s) political party, even when
controlling for changes in Catholic unemployment, inter-communal electoral
competition, and levels of violence between the PIRA and the state. Vigilante attacks by
the PIRA on alleged criminals also increase support for the party.