ATLANTA — Over the past semester (Spring 2024), Distinguished University Professor of Psychology, Director of the Violent Extremism Research Group (VERG) and Transcultural Conflict and Violence Initiative (TCV) faculty, at Georgia State University, Dr. John Horgan, has been involved in several noteworthy activities that highlight his expertise and contributions to the field of psychology.
With his latest book release Terrorist Minds: The Psychology of Violent Extremism from Al-Qaeda to the Far Right, Horgan delivered a talk to the AVERT Research Network, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia and provided an up-to-date, evidence-based understanding of the patterns, motives, and mentalities of violent extremists from the Islamic State and al-Shabaab to white supremacists and incels. In his book, Horgan argues that there is not a straightforward psychological profile of a terrorist, in part because of the great variety of today’s extremists, who are able to attract a more diverse pool of recruits than ever before. But even though there is no one-size-fits-all profile, psychological study can provide crucial insight into why and how people become terrorists.
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In addition, Horgan led an advanced workshop in April for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Behavioral Analysis Unit, at their headquarters in Quantico, Virginia. The workshop was held for new agents.
Horgan also delivered the keynote address to the “New Challenges and Perspectives in the CVE Landscape”, hosted by the New South Wales government, in Sydney, Australia, 8-10 April.
Horgan has also announced details for his new contract with Cambridge University Press for his upcoming book “The Recruiters” (to be released 2026) and upcoming events including a keynote address at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam for the “Resilience towards Extreme Beliefs” Workshop, September 26-27, 2024 and a presentation, “The State of P/CVE Research in 2024: A Golden Era Still?”, in Stuttgart, Germany, as part of the Governmental Disengagement and Deradicalization Work Within an International Context: Experiences, Research, Exchange” conference.
Horgan is also the author of The Psychology of Terrorism (second edition, 2014) and Divided We Stand: The Strategy and Psychology of Ireland’s Dissident Terrorists (2012). Available now.
For Transcultural Conflict and Violence at GSU
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