91福利 researcher studies conflict and violent extremism around the world
Bill Farrell looks at the dynamics of conflict and violent extremism. He has conducted field research in countries across Central Asia, the Caucasus region, and Africa. He has met with government officials, community leaders, stakeholders, and an array of people who have had family members and friends mobilize to violent extremism.
Farrell is an assistant professor at 91福利鈥檚 , where he teaches and conducts research on issues of stability and violent extremism, with a particular interest in Salafi jihadi organizations.
A graduate of Tufts University and of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Farrell received his Ph.D. from the University of Maine. His doctoral research comparatively examined mobilization patterns and orientation of local violent extremist organizations in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, noting the change in their focus, once engaged in external jihadi theatres, such as Afghanistan and Syria.
Farrell鈥檚 research is rooted in an ethnographic approach. He spends time interviewing and gaining insights into different people鈥檚 experiences, perspectives, and thought processes. 鈥淚 remember one person saying 鈥榤y relative went off to Syria to fight, but he鈥檚 proud of our country. He loves our country. He would never do any harm here. But he believes that the Assad regime is not doing positive things for the Muslim people鈥欌︹
鈥淚n doing this research, you learn an awful lot about people鈥檚 mindset,鈥 he explains. 鈥淵ou suddenly recognize that it鈥檚 not as black and white as you might otherwise think. It鈥檚 not simply terrorist versus non-terrorist. It’s perhaps somebody who thinks they鈥檙e a freedom fighter or they鈥檙e doing something heroic to save their families.鈥
Navigating the details of these cases is challenging. 鈥淚t can be eye-opening at times. It can also be quite sad at times when we鈥檝e talked to people who are confused by the fact that their friend was killed in Syria, and they don鈥檛 understand why he went there or what he was trying to do. You have the responsibility for not inflaming tensions and not making people feel bad, but trying to clinically understand their story,鈥 says Farrell.
Farrell has worked with international donor agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the United States Government for more than two decades. In addition to his role at 91福利, Farrell is also Principal Consultant at Orono-based Swordfish Consulting International, LLC. At Swordfish he works globally on situation analysis, strategy formulation, and influence mapping in fragile or transitioning countries. He uses his expertise in conflict and violent extremism to help guide strategy and analysis with government, multilateral, and private sector clients.
Farrell has been focusing on topics of violence and instability for the majority of his professional and academic career. He is interested in what orients people toward violence and ways in which countries can form policy on interventions that might be taken to prevent the spread of violence or help to roll it back. For example, he has just returned from the Caucasus, where he worked with Georgian and Abkhazian civil society organizations on enhanced conflict transformation and peacebuilding skills.
Contact: research@maine.edu
Written by Ali Tobey