John M. Berger (born 1967) is an American academic and former investigative journalist who writes on

extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied sha ...

and

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

. He has a PhD in

criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

from the Swansea University School of Law. Berger is a senior research fellow at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism and has served as a consultant for government agencies and tech companies. He has written three books on the subjects of extremism and terrorism, including ''ISIS: The State of Terror'' (with

Jessica Stern Jessica Eve Stern (born February 11, 1958) is an American scholar and academic on terrorism. Stern serves as a research professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. Earlier she had been a lecturer at Harvard University. ...

) and ''Jihad Joe''.

Education and career

John M. Berger was born in 1967. He is the creator of the investigative journalism site Intelwire, and was also involved in the making of several documentary films. He has published both journalistic and academic works, and was a contributor to the magazines ''

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'', and ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

''. Berger has a PhD in

from the Swansea University School of Law. He is a senior research fellow at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC) of the

Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey Established in 1955, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), formerly the Monterey Institute of International Studies, located in Monterey, California, is a Postgraduate education, graduate institute and satellite ...

and an associate fellow of the

International Centre for Counter-Terrorism The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) is an independent think-and-do tank providing multidisciplinary policy advice and practical support focused on prevention, the rule of law and current and emerging threats three important part ...

. He is also a research fellow at the VOX-Pol Network of Excellence and is a former non-resident fellow of the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

. He has also served as a consultant for tech companies and government agencies on terrorism and extremism related issues. He was on the Independent Advisory Committee of the

Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) is an Internet industry initiative to share proprietary information and technology for automated content moderation. History Founded in 2017 by a consortium of companies spearheaded by Fac ...

. He largely writes on extremism, particularly when it comes to propaganda and ideology.

Works

His first book, ''Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam'', was published in 2011 by

Potomac Books The University of Nebraska Press (UNP) was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the University of Ne ...

. It covers homegrown jihadism in the United States. Many documents used in the creation of the book were obtained the

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act (United States) of 1966 * F ...

. In 2015, Berger and fellow terrorism scholar

wrote ''ISIS: The State of Terror'', on the ideology and propaganda of ISIS. It received positive reviews and in 2015 was listed by ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' as one of their 10 recommended books on the evolution of terror in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and listed it as a work of notable nonfiction for that year. ''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

'' listed it as one of the best books of 2015. In 2018 he wrote ''Extremism'' for

MIT Press The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...

, as part of their Essential Knowledge Series. The book gives an introduction to extremism as a concept and an analysis of it and its manifestations. In 2020 he published his debut fiction novel, ''Optimal''.

Bibliography

* * * * (fiction novel)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, J.M. Living people 1967 births Alumni of Swansea University American criminologists American journalists 21st-century American non-fiction writers Scholars of terrorism