Ivan Sascha Sheehan

Ivan Sascha Sheehan, a visiting professor at ICAR and a recent PhD graduate of the institute, is spotlighted this month for his groundbreaking work in evaluating the effectiveness of U.S. counter terrorism strategies. Despite the proliferation of terrorism and counter terrorism literature, few analysts, have conducted quantitative research to understand the impact and efficacy of counter terrorism strategies. Dr. Sheehan is among the few.

Last month, testifying in the Senate Russell Building for congressional staff, Sheehan highlighted the conclusions from his forthcoming book by Cambria Press: When Terrorism and Counter terrorism Clash: The War on Terror and the Transformation of Terrorist Activity.

In the book (publish date: 11/2007), Sheehan’s analysis begins by studying events from the War on Terror including the war in Afghanistan. The Iraqi offensive, the capture of Saddam Hussein, and the making public of Iraqi prison photos at Abu Ghraib, and the subsequent correlation they have with the intensity, lethality, and regularity of global terrorism. Sheehan investigates this “cause and effect” relationship by using statistical analysis of longitudinal data which gives strong quantitative legitimacy to his claims. The final product is important in not only providing the largest ever cataloging and organization of terrorism over the past decade (1992-2004) but also because of its implications for US foreign policy.

Additionally, Sheehan teaches a three-credit course on counter terrorism at ICAR, scheduled for the winter and summer sessions. Says Sheehan of the class, “It’s my belief that the multi-disciplinary of our field provides unremarkable leverage to facilitate discussions between individuals with diverse perspectives and unique expertise, dialogue that might not otherwise ever occur. As an emerging field we’re fortunate not to be constrained by the dogmas and paradigms of some more traditional disciplines. This allows us to “think outside the box” and develop new and innovative solutions to urgent problems that require attention.”