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Dr Sarah Marsden Headshot

Dr Sarah Marsden
Centre Director and Senior Lecturer

Sarah Marsden is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St Andrews. I joined St Andrews after five years in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University.

My research and teaching take an interdisciplinary approach to radical and violent politics. I look at transnational social movements, violent militant networks, grassroots activists, and those practicing everyday forms of resistance from a range of ideological positions including militant Islamists, anti-fascists, radical environmental activists, and far-right religious nationalists. I have published widely on these subjects in journals including Terrorism and Political ViolenceStudies in Conflict and Terrorism and the Journal of Strategic Studies.

My work on political contention takes a participatory approach, engaging with a wide range of stakeholders including government bodies, arts organisations, charities, and community-led groups to develop real-world solutions to complex social problems.

Current projects include a body of work on violent extremism through the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats with a focus on counter-extremism, reintegration and disengagement processes, and foreign fighters, and Remembering Resistance, a transdisciplinary programme of research, events, and collaborations that looks at the relationship between protest, power and place in women’s activism. 

E; sm992@st-andrews.ac.uk

Room: 231

T: 01334 462933

Office hours: By appointment