Professor John Horgan

Distinguished University Professor

Institution
Georgia State University

Research Area Keywords
Terrorism, violent extremism, political violence, forensic psychology

Contact: jhorgan@gsu.edu

About John

John Horgan is Distinguished University Professor at Georgia State University’s Department of Psychology where he directs the Violent Extremism Research Group (VERG). His research examines terrorist psychology. His books include The Psychology of Terrorism (now in its second edition and published in a dozen languages), Divided We Stand: The Strategy and Psychology of Ireland’s Dissident Terrorists; and Walking Away from Terrorism. He is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Terrorism and Political Violence and serves on the Editorial Boards of several additional publications. He has held positions at the University of Massachusetts (Lowell), Penn State, University of St. Andrews, and University College, Cork. His research has been featured in such venues as The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, CNN, PBS, NPR, Rolling Stone Magazine, Nature, Scientific American, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Horgan’s latest book, Terrorist Minds: The Psychology of Violent Extremism from al Qaeda to the Far Right was published by Columbia University Press in December 2023.

Publications


Books

Terrorist Minds: The Psychology of Violent Extremism from al Qaeda to the Far Right (2023)

Horgan, J

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Ethics and Terrorism (2021)

Taylor, M and Horgan, J (Eds)

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Small Arms: Children and Terrorism (2019)

Bloom, M with Horgan, J

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The Psychology of Terrorism (2014)

Horgan, J

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Divided We Stand: The Strategy and Psychology of Ireland’s Dissident Terrorists (2013)

Horgan, J

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Terrorism Studies: A Reader (2011)

Horgan, J and Braddock, K (Eds.)

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Book Chapters

Foreword (2021)

Horgan, J

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Psychological Approaches to the Study of Terrorism (2019)

Horgan, J

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Research summary: Lessons from a U.S. study revealing the critical role of “gatekeepers” (2015)

Williams, M J, Horgan, J G, & Evans, W P

Journal Articles

Crisis as Catalyst: Crisis in Conversion to Islam Related to Radicalism Intentions (2023)

Snook, D, Fodeman, A D, Kleinmann, S M, and Horgan, J G

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Human Security Psychology: A Linking Construct for an Eclectic Discipline (2022)

Hodgetts, D, Hopner, V, Carr, S, Bar-Tal, D, Liu, J H, Saner, R, Yiu, L, Horgan, J, Searle, R H, Massola, G, Hakim, M A, Marai, L, King, P, & Moghaddam, F

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The Politics of Perception: Political Preference Strongly Associated with Different Perceptions of Islamist and Right-Wing Terrorism Risk (2022)

Snook, D W, Fodeman, Ari D, Meredith, K, and Horgan, J G

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Dominant Predictors of Violent versus Non-Violent Terrorist Roles among US Muslim Converts (2022)

Snook, D W, Fodeman, A D, Swartout, K M, and Horgan, J G

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Terrorist Transformations: The Link between Terrorist Roles and Terrorist Disengagement (2022)

Altier, M B, Leonard Boyle, E, and Horgan, J G

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Occasional Publications, Reports, Features

Helping Veterans Thrive: The Importance of Peer Support in Preventing Domestic Violent Extremism (2022)

Horgan, J

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Beyond Guantanamo: Restoring the Rule of Law to the Law of War – A Report Regarding the Closing of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility (2022)

Horgan J, Altenburg, J, Gregg Bloche, M, Brooks, S, Brown, G, Corn, G S, Davis, M, Gerson, S, Kammen, R, Meyer, R, Mora, A, Painter, R & Solis G

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Deradicalization Programs: Recommendations for Policy and Practice (2021)

Horgan, J

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Grants and Projects


January 2023 - September 2023: Training and Instruction. Georgia Emergency Management & Homeland Security Agency.

$62,168.

2022 - 2024: Sustainable Exit Work: Interventions, Quality Assurance, and Training for Practitioners with Lived Experience, sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program, Co-PI with Myrieme Churchill, Parents for Peace.

$749,546.

2020 - 2022: Text-Enabled Gatekeeper Intervention Help Line Referral System, and a Psychological and Behavioral Analysis of the Roots and Evolution of Male Supremacy and the Incel Rebellion. Funded by DHS Science and Technology Directorate.

$466,850

Extended 2022 - 2023, $698,281.

Extended, 2023 - 2025, $652,474.


2020 - 2022: VACCINE-RED: Validating the Adaptable Capacity of Communicative Inoculation to Neutralize the Effects of Right-wing Extremist Disinformation, sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Initiative, Co-PI with Dr. Kurt Braddock, American University.

$568,613.


2019 - 2022: Operation 250: An Evaluation of a Primary Prevention Campaign Focused on Online Safety and Risk Assessment, sponsored by the National Institute of Justice, Co-PI with Neil Shortland, University of Massachusetts Lowell.

$1.029m.