Under supervision of Professor Blazakis, the three CTEC Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) will carry out research on matters related to terrorism financing and illicit crime.

This position is compensated at the Level B rate on the MIIS student wage scale: $17.00 - $17.50 per hour.

Core Responsibilities:

• CTEC seeks two GRAs to work with CTEC’s Executive Director, Jason Blazakis, and its senior research analyst, Isabela Bernardo (on campus in the McGowan Building, room 210), on research related to extremism related challenges involving violent misogyny and involuntary celibates (INCELs), especially in digital spaces.
• CTEC seeks a GRA to work directly with the CTEC Director on the intersection of conflict transformation and illicit financing. In this regard, the GRA will produce a literature review that could guide further CTEC research.

Other Duties & Responsibilities:

• Perform other related duties as requested by Professor Blazakis or Isabela Bernardo

Conflict Transformation and This Work:

For the two GRAs working on incel and violent misogyny issues, the GRAs will develop the following CT Skills. First, mediation – in doing this work the two GRAs will learn about mediation techniques that facilitate problem solving, often internal-looking, for individuals who may be moving towards a pathway to radicalization. The second key CT skill developed will be restorative practices. In working with at risk individuals in online spaces and with various community groups, Bernardo’s work in tandem with the GRAs will highlight how accountability for actions taken help resolve conflicts revolving around us vs them dynamics that result in in and out group formation – in this instance, men. The work of CTEC, and Bernardo, attempts to repair relationships and foster accountability. In terms of dispositions, the curiosity (why do people move towards conflict and radicalization), creativity (what kind of creative off ramps exist to move people away from radicalization), and the work in online spaces like this are inherently laden with risks, and as such efforts to create off ramps in offline spaces for populations that tilt towards violent misogyny certainly have failed (for instance, advertising campaigns to move people from problematic rhetoric to safer sites related to mental health or men’s groups that foster love and community do not always work). Finally, the two GRAs will gain significant contextual knowledge regarding the history of violent misogyny and various preventative approaches in the field that have been deployed to move people away from pathways towards violence.

The GRA working with Blazakis on the two projects outlined above will gain CT-related knowledge. First, in researching content for the book on terrorist financing, among the issues that will be explored are how resource issues, especially in the context of state’s that ignore huge swathes of their population (often on borders of countries away from capitals) result in a push towards terrorism (and thus conflict). How does resource scarcity and resource access create push/pull factors that result in individuals availing themselves of illicit finance – which often is the fuel needed for conflict. Second, in gaining knowledge, one core CT skill developed will be intercultural competence – in essence, what about the dynamics in specific communities result in people being push (based on cultural values) towards conflict. In my first book (2024), The Mediterranean Connection, I discuss how culture shapes decisions to move into illicit financial activity – especially in areas deemed the hinterlands by governments. Terror’s Wallet will explore these types of issues, but within the context of terrorist financing. My hope is the GRA will uncover in the lit review areas that will feed into the CTEC paper and book proposal. Finally, very little has been published that examines contextual issues that give rise to illicit financing, especially related to the furtherance of conflict. As such, the GRA will gain a CT disposition related to curiosity – in examining human suffering, often witnessed through the lens of abject poverty in borderlands, how that shapes conflict by moves towards illicit financing, the GRA will better grasp key root causes that fuel conflict via financial mechanisms. Creating this prose will require a GRA who can think creatively about NPOs, governments, and individual relations to those that are relatively deprived – in essence, examining the issue of terrorist financing through the lens of humanity. My hope is the lit review will culminate in a short CTEC publication on the topic of intersections between CT and terrorist financing and ultimately publication of a chapter in a book (and in the interim the research serve as text for the book proposal).

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Current computer skills, to include word processing, knowledge of internet, and email.
• Excellent research skills.
• Excellent editing capability.
• Solid written and oral communication skills.
• Attention to detail and record keeping skills.
• Skilled command of grammar and spelling.
• Database Management
• Willingness and ability to comply with Institute policies, procedures, and mandates.

Education/Experience:

• Minimum three years comparable experience.
• College-level coursework and familiarity with an academic setting desirable.
• This position is only available to MIIS grad students.

Student Employment Eligibility:

Unless restricted by certain visa status, all students with an active status for the semester are eligible for jobs on campus.

Students on leave or withdrawn are not eligible to work in student employment positions until the semester in which they return. If you are currently withdrawn or on leave you are eligible to be employed in staff positions.

Some may be restricted due to financial aid status. International students (non-resident aliens) may not work off campus unless they have applied for and received work authorization from the United States government. (An F-1 visa does not give work authorization.) Off campus work study positions are available only to U.S. citizens on financial aid with a federal work study component.

Student are not eligible to work remotely from International locations.

Hour Limitations:

All student employees are limited to working no more than 20 hours per week in on campus jobs during the academic year (this includes exam periods). The only exception is when there is a full week when school is not in session. Specifically: February recess, Spring recess, and full weeks of December or summer recess. During these time periods only, students can work up to 40 hours per week. International Students: Visa restrictions prohibit international students from exceeding 20 hours of work per academic calendar week.