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Thomson

Dr Andrew Thomson

Lecturer in International Security and Terrorism

(BA University of Kent, MA University of Sussex, PhD University of Kent)

Contact Details
Room 026.02.004
School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy Queen's University Belfast | 25 University Square | BT71PB

Email: a.f.thomson@qub.ac.uk
Tel: (+44) 028 9097 2526

Teaching Areas

Terrorism, international security, US foreign policy, US and Latin American relations, counterinsurgency and irregular warfare, and non-state actors in civil war.

During the 2013-2014 academic I will be convening PAI 2055 Security and Terrorism at the undergraduate level (year 2) as well as PAI 7007 Global Terrorism at the MA level. I will also contribute to team-taught courses on topics relating to US foreign policy, Latin America, counterinsurgency strategies, and non-state actors in civil war.

Research Interests

My research interests include US foreign policy towards Latin America, revolution and counterinsurgency warfare, paramilitaries and non-state military actors, the conflict in Colombia, the political economy of conflict, violence against civilians in civil war, and a broader interest in issues surrounding human, social, and economic development.

My primary area of research activity revolves around counterinsurgency practices in US foreign policy with a specific focus on the role of non-state armed actors, such as paramilitaries, militias, and private military companies (PMCs). This research develops a para-statal model of US hegemony in the contemporary global order which provides further insight into dynamics between “public” and “private” violence.

I am also interested in the dynamics of violence that occur as a result of the mobilisation of militias in civil war. This strand of research empirically examines the effects of different types of militias on conflict processes in civil wars, from death squads to civilian self-defence forces, to civilian auxiliary police. I am currently working on a series of papers on this topic.

Recent/Selected Publications

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Maher, David and Thomson, Andrew. “The Terror that Underpins the “Peace”: The Political Economy of Colombia's Paramilitary Demobilization Process.” Critical Studies on Terrorism 4, no. 1 (2011): 95-113.

Other Papers and Publications

Thomson, Andrew. Exploring the Relationship between Higher Education and Development: A Review and Report. Guerrand-Hermés Foundation for Peace, 2008.

Book Reviews

Thomson, Andrew. Review of Esparza, M., Huttenbach, H. R., and Feierstein, D. (Eds.): State Violence and Genocide in Latin America: The Cold War Years. State Crime 1, no. 2 (Autumn 2012): 275-278

Thomson, Andrew. Review of Hristov, Jasmin. Blood and Capital: The Paramilitarization of Colombia. International Affairs 86, no. 6 (November, 2010): 1473-1475.