This week Her Campus had the pleasure to meet with Prof. Peter Krause to learn more about his research on Middle Eastern politics, terrorism, national movements, and political violence right before the launch of his newest book: Rebel Power. We are excited to share some information on his background, his time at BC, his research, and his thoughts on some current issues with all of our readers.
Prof. Krause, please tell us a little more about your academic background. When did you first become interested in this field and begin doing research in it?
I grew up loving history, especially political and military history. I didn’t take a political science class until college, but I immediately fell in love with the systematic study of international relations and U.S. foreign policy. I was always fascinated by Middle East politics, both on its own merits and because I felt that it was the region of the world that Americans and our government had the least knowledge of. Although I took courses in Middle East politics and political violence in college, my studies started in earnest when I pursued my PhD. Once I did my first fieldwork in the region, I was hooked.
When did you first join the faculty at BC?
I joined the Political Science department in the fall of 2012. I teach half of my classes in Political Science and half in International Studies.
What are some of your favorite aspects of teaching and doing research at Boston College?
BC was a dream job for me because it combined the small school feel and focus on teaching of my undergraduate institution, Williams College, with the growing research focus on my graduate institution, MIT. I love the students at BC and generally find them to be passionate about the subject matter, hard-working, and open-minded. My greatest joy is inspiring them to love learning about the topics we study and helping them to hone their analytical and communication skills for BC and beyond. In that vein, one of my greatest joys at BC is working with my research team, the Project on National Movements and Political Violence (http://www.peterjpkrause.com/research-team). I have 20 different students who work with me as Undergraduate Research Fellows and Research Assistants, and they help me with a variety of projects as they hone their own research skills. It is an incredibly rewarding experience.
You are currently an Assistant Professor in the Political Science department at BC, a Research Affiliate with the MIT Security Studies Program, you conduct media interviews quite frequently, and you regularly give talks on the field. How do you balance it all?
It’s not easy, although that is the life of an engaged academic. I feel lucky to be able to spend my days learning about topics that fascinate me, and I take seriously my responsibility to try to teach others in society and share my knowledge with them. I have an intense personality that always keeps me on the go, but despite it all I always try to get 8 hours of sleep every night. It doesn’t always happen, but it’s what helps gives me the fuel to give 100% all the time when I’m awake.
What are some of the other projects you are working on now that Rebel Power is out?
I just published an article with Professor Liane Young and PhD candidate Jordan Theriault from the Psychology Department on how studying terrorism in a college course impacts students’ attitudes about terrorists. As my research team would tell you, we have also been working on a sequel of sorts to Rebel Power for a while now, in which we try to answer the “day after” question of when there is regime change, which of the victorious groups capture the spoils of office, wealth, and status in the new government, and which are left out in the cold.
The US dropped the “MOAB” last week in Afghanistan targeting ISIS fighters. What would you define as some of the best policy approaches for countering ISIS?
I have a fothcoming chapter in a book on ISIS that will be published by Brookings that explains this. In short, ISIS is simulateneously an insurgent group, a state-like entity, and a revolutionary movement. Any attempts to destory ISIS must view it through these three lenses and strategize accordingly. Taking territory and killing ISIS fighters in airstrikes is part of the equation, but if that’s the extent of the strategy it will fail, as it sets up the U.S. for a series of tactical victories and strategic defeats.
President Trump has made a point of saying that we must label the terrorist threat we are currently faced with in order to combat it. What is your stance on the use of the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism”?
My stance is that jihadi groups like ISIS absolutely claim they are Islamic and that they are protecting and leading the broader umma, or Muslim community. Ignoring that is ignoring many of the groups’ key motivations and objectives, as well as their potential tactics and weaknesses. At the same time, nearly all Muslims reject ISIS, and they are its most common targets and victims. In the United States, American Muslims are generally better educated, economically well off, and patriotic than average, and many potential terrorist plots have been thwarted due to tips from the American Muslim community. Therefore, we should all be clear and objective in our use of the term “terrorism” (which most politicians and media organizations are not), but we should avoid granting legitimacy to groups like ISIS who do not deserve it, and we should avoid alienating those who are with us in the struggle against jihadis’ warped ideology and extreme violence.
Statistics show that one is more likely to be struck by lightning twice during their lifetime than to die in a terrorist attack, yet estimates show that the United States spends approximately $100 billion on counterterrorism yearly. Do you believe the terrorist threat is overblown?
This is the exact question that I set out to answer with my study on the impact of education on attitudes about terrorism. We published the first article, but there will be many more to come, the next hopefully on this exact issue. First, I think the threat of terrorism is real, and your question requires some revision to be accurate. That may be true for Americans on American soil, but it is not true for people today in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, or other places with ongoing civil wars, which have over 90% of yearly terrorist attacks. Part of the reason so few Americans die from terrorist attacks is because we spend money and have the world’s best intelligence and military services. That said, the threat certainly is overblown in the media and people’s estimates of the threat do not line up with reality, just as they don’t for fears of plane crashes, shark attacks, and the like.Our research suggests that education may be one of the best ways to quell people’s fears while still informing them of the true risks.
Want to learn more about Prof. Peter Krause and gain a greater understanding of the history of national movements and the causes and consequences of contentious collective action today, from the Arab Spring to the civil wars and insurgencies in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond? Make sure to check out Krause’s book launch, which is taking place this Tuesday, April 25th, from 6pm-7pm in Devlin 101. Books will be available for purchase at a discounted rate and Prof. Krause is sticking around for book signings after his short talk!
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