Alice Martini is a Lecturer in International Relations at the International Relations and Global History Department, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. Her teaching focuses on IR theories and International Security. Her research focuses on discourses of terrorism and counter-terrorism, mostly at an international level. She is the author of The UN and counter-terrorism. Global hegemonies, power and identity (Routledge, 2021) and co-editor of Encountering Extremism (MUP, 2020) and Contemporary Reflections on CTS (with da Silva, 2024).
David J. Wilcox is Assistant Professor (Education) in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham. His research interests focus on the role of individuals and how their perception and their relationships shape the development of diplomatic initiatives. His recent article was published in Israel Studies Review with a forthcoming article in International Negotiation. His recent work on Playful Learning and the use of LEGO® was published with International Studies Perspective.
Giuditta Fontana is Associate Professor of International Security at the University of Birmingham. Her research focuses on peacebuilding, institutional design, and the management of cultural and heritage institutions in conflict-affected societies. She is the co-author of How to Prevent Civil War Recurrence. Learning from Failure (OUP, forthcoming) and the author of Education Policy and Power-Sharing in Post-Conflict Societies (Springer, 2016). Her recent articles have appeared in International Studies Quarterly, Global Policy, and Disability & Society. She is associate editor of Nationalism and Ethnic Politics and co-convenor of the Political Studies Association’s Specialist Group on Ethnopolitics. Her recent work on innovative and playful pedagogy was published in International Studies Perspectives.
Guendalina Simoncini is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Political Science at Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence and an Adjunct Professor of Politics of the Middle East at the University of Genoa. She also serves as cultore della materia (subject tutor) for the Islamic Studies course taught by Prof. Renata Pepicelli at the University of Pisa. Her research focuses on the politics of secu¬rity and political transformation in the SWANA region, bringing together work on counterterrorism, gender and conflict, and collective mobilisation.
Jane Kirkpatrick is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Her research spans civil society, the UK Parliament, and state-building, with a focus on parliamentary scrutiny mechanisms, movement party dynamics, and how civil society organisations engage with Parliament, particularly in climate and environmental politics. She also explores how videogames can be used to engage students with issues such as resistance, conflict, and political decision-making.
Laura Ribeiro holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNISUL), where she focused on human rights, terrorism, and international law. She gained professional experience at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Brazil, supporting projects related to migration, environmental crimes, and human rights, and later collaborated with the Research Center for International Humanitarian Law and Counterterrorism (GEPSI) at the University of Brasília (Brazil). She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in European and International Studies at the University of Trento (Italy) and developed her research thesis abroad at the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) on international security. Laura is also an intern at the Iberic Network for Critical Terrorism and Security Studies (IN-CTSS), where she assists in coordination and research activities.
Raquel da Silva is Associate Professor of International Relations at the School of Economics, University of Coimbra and Integrated Researcher at CEI-Iscte. She examines different forms of non-state violence, from terroristic violence to football violence, as well as state violence, particularly related to counterterrorism practices. She has published a monograph entitled Narratives of Political Violence: Life Stories of Former Militants (Routledge, 2019) and has co-edited four other volumes in the sub-field of Critical Terrorism Studies. Her her work has been funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology, the British Academy and the European Union, among others.