Dr Andrew Thomson is a Senior Lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast and a Fellow at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. His research interests include pro-government militias and civilian defence forces, dynamics of violence in civil war, counterinsurgency and "irregular" warfare, state violence and the Colombian peace process. These broad research interests are divided into three strands.

First, he focuses on the role of militias and mercenaries in US foreign policy. His book, Outsourced Empire: How Militias, Mercenaries and Contractors Support US Statecraft, examined US support to various non-state armed forces in US interventions around the world. Secondly, Andrew examines the effects of mobilizing civilian self-defence forces on the dynamics of violence during civil conflict as well as on the long-term effects on peace processes. He is specifically interested in how mobilizing civilians in counterinsurgency settings, such the Sons of Iraq program, impact insurgent targets of violence.

Finally, he also focuses on the current peace process in Colombia in the context of multiple armed groups. He recently completed a project funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund on how FARC members’ interactions with other armed organizations influenced their disarmament process. He is currently developing a project examining ex-combatant dialogues towards reconciliation and conflict transformation.