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Sean K. Anderson, PhD

Professor

Political Science

Academic Degrees:

  • Ph.D.--Political Science--University of Oklahoma, 1993
  • M.A.--Political Science--University of Oklahoma, 1992
  • M.B.A.--Business Economics--University of Washington, 1978
  • B.A.--Philosophy and Classical Languages--Western Washington University, 1975

Doctoral Fields:

  • Comparative Politics
  • International Relations
  • American Politics

The Impact of Internal Islamic Fundamentalism on Iranian Support for Transnational Terrorism

Professional Experience:

  • Professor--Department of Political Science, Idaho State University, 2003--
  • Associate Professor--Department of Political Science, Idaho State University, 1998--2003
  • Assistant Professor--Department of Political Science, Idaho State University, 1993-1998
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant--Department of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, 1989-1993
  • Research Assistant--Bureau of Government Research, University of Oklahoma, 1988-89
  • Research Analyst--Dalton and Associates, Inc., 1983-88
  • Chief Editor--International Department, Pars News Agency (Tehran), 1980-82

Courses Taught:

  • Introduction to Administrative Process--Idaho State University
  • Introduction to Comparative Politics--Idaho State University
  • Introduction to Politics--Idaho State University
  • Terrorism and Political Violence--Idaho State University
  • Senior Seminar on Religion, Culture and Politics--Idaho State University
  • Resurgence Movements Doctoral Seminar--Idaho State University
  • Political Order and Change--Idaho State University
  • Politics of Developing Nations--Idaho State University
  • Government of the United States--University of Oklahoma and Idaho State University
  • The Middle East: Contemporary Politics and Problems--Oklahoma Center for Continuing Education and Idaho State University

Memberships in Professional Associations:

  • American Political Science Association, Comparative Politics and American Politics sections 1991--
  • Pacific Northwest Political Science Association 1995--
  • Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences 1995--
  • American Society for Industrial Security 1996--
  • International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals 2001--

Professional Writing:

  1. "U.S. Counter-Insurgency vs. Iranian-Sponsored Terrorism," submitted for publication to Low Intensity Conflict & Law Enforcement (Frank Cass publishers) special issue on "Networks, Terrorism, and Global Insurgency," February 2004.
  2. Entry on "Al-Qaeda" accepted for publication in Encyclopedia of International Relations and Global Politics, ed. Martin Griffiths, Routledge: London, 2004.
  3. Book Review of Inside Al-Qaeda: Global Network of Terror by Rohan Gunaratna, Governance: An International Journal of Policy and Administration, Volume 16, Number 4, October 2003 (pp. 625-635).
  4. (with Stephen Sloan), Terrorism: Assassins to Zealots, (Blue Summit Ridge, PA: Rowman & Littlefield/University Press of America, Feb 2003).
  5. (with Stephen Sloan), Historical Dictionary of Terrorism, Second Edition, (Blue Summit Ridge, PA: Rowman & Littlefield/University Press of America, March 2002).
  6. "Warnings versus Alarms: Terrorist Threat Analysis Applied to the Iranian State-Run Media," in Richard Harvey W. Kushner, ed., Essential Readings On Political Terrorism (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, May 2002).
  7. Book Review of The Constitution of Iran: Politics and the State in the Islamic Republic by Asghar Schirazi, accepted for publication by Governance: An International Journal of Policy and Administration, Volume 13, Number 3, July 2000 (pp. 409-438).
  8. Book Review of Comparing Asian Politics: India, China, and Japan by Sue Ellen M. Charlton, Social Science Journal, 37 (Winter(1): 2000), 145-160.
  9. "Warnings versus Alarms: Terrorist Threat Analysis Applied to the Iranian State-Run Media," Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 21 (Fall 1998): 277-303.
  10. (with Stephen Sloan), "Patterns of State-Sponsored Terrorism: A Comparative Study of the 1980s and Changes in the 1990s", in FOA Report on Terrorism, edited by Dr. Gunnar Jervas, (Stockholm, Sweden: Defence Research Establishment, June 1998)
  11. Book Review of Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism, 1979-95: The Iranian Connection by Edgar O'Ballance, Journal of Conflict Studies, 18 (spring 1998): 161-163.
  12. (with Stephen Sloan), Historical Dictionary of Terrorism, (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press/University Press of America, 1995).
  13. "Iran: Terrorism and Islamic Fundamentalism," in Edwin G. Corr and Stephen Sloan, eds., Low-Intensity Conflict: Old Threats in a New World (Boulder: Westview Press, 1992), pp. 173-95.
  14. (with David R. Morgan), "Assessing the Effects of Political Culture: Religious Affiliation and County Political Behavior," The Social Science Journal, 28 (Spring 1991): 163-74--presented at the 1989 Southwest Political Science Association Meeting, Little Rock, Arkansas.
  15. "Iranian State Sponsorship of Terrorism," Conflict Quarterly, 11 (Fall 1991): 19-34--presented at the 1990 Conference of the University of Manitoba Counter-Terror Study Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Other Professional Activities:

  1. "Understanding Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism," presented for the Casper College Continuing Education Program Series, Casper, Wyoming, April 25, 2003.
  2. "Forum on Iraq" presented on February 11, 2003 at the United Methodist Church of Pocatello, presenting the history and political culture of Iraq, the background of the Ba`thist Party and Saddam Hussein, and the controversy over the purported weapons of mass destruction
  3. "The Political Culture of the Middle East," presented for the College of Southern Idaho, Symposium on International Relations Twin Falls, Idaho, November 28, 2002.
  4. "Psychology of Terrorists and Terrorist Groups," presented at the McMahon Symposium on International Affairs held in Norman, Oklahoma on February 25, 2002, a public forum at the University of Oklahoma sponsored by the OU School of Journalism.
  5. "Iran: Present and Future Prospects", presented for the Casper Committee on Foreign Relations, Casper, Wyoming, December 13, 2001.
  6. "Terrorism in the New Millennium," presented for the Student Program Board of Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, October 4, 2001.
  7. "Pro-Active U.S. Intervention Overseas and Anti-U.S. State- Sponsored Terrorism: Evidence from the Iranian Case 1980-1990," presented at the the International Relations panel of the Pacific Northwest Political Science Association annual conference held October 19, 2001 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
  8. "Understanding What Terrorism Means to Rural Idaho," co-presented with Stephen Sloan Conferences held from August 14 through August 17, 2000, in Twin Falls, Pocatello, and Idaho Falls in conjunction with Idaho Bureau of Disaster Services.
  9. "Profiles of Terrorist Groups and Individuals," workshop presented at Idaho At Risk: Domestic Preparedness and Emergency Response to Terrorism Conference" co-hosted by ISU Continuing Education and Special Programs Office and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on July 28, 2000.
  10. "Pro-Active U.S. Intervention Overseas and Anti-U.S. State- Sponsored Terrorism: Evidence from the Iranian Case 1980-1990," presented at the conference "Terrorism and Beyond: The 21st Century,"co-sponsored by the Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism and Rand Corporation on March 17, 2000 in Oklahoma City.
  11. "International Terrorism in the 21st Century", presented for the Casper Committee on Foreign Relations, Casper, Wyoming, October 28, 1999.
  12. Co-Author, Active Learning Guide for American Government, (NewYork: Addison-Wesley, 2000)
  13. Participant, joint American Society for Industrial Security and Webster University Education Symposium held June 6-8, 1997 at Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri.
  14. "Idaho Elections 1994-1996: The Role of Political Culture in the Making of the Most Republican State," presented at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Social Sciences Association held at New Orleans, March 26 - 29, 1997.
  15. "Islamic Fundamentalism, Middle Eastern Terrorism and Future Threats to U.S. Interests," address presented on September 20 at the 1994 annual convention of the American Society for Industrial Security, Las Vegas, Nevada.
  16. "Warnings versus Alarms: Terrorist Threat Analysis Applied to the Iranian State-Run Media," paper presented on March 10 at the 1995 annual convention of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Boston, Massachusetts.
  17. "The Abkhazian Secession: Regional and International Ramifications," paper (co-authored with Dennis P. Wilkinson) presented on March 16 before the panel on "Foreign Policy and Regional Relations of the Former Soviet Union" of the 1995 Western Political Science Association Meeting, Portland, Oregon.
  18. "Amal and Hizballah: Diversity Within The Shi`a Islamic Resurgence Movements," paper (co-authored with Justin K. Elledge) presented on March 17 before the panel on "Politics of Diversity in Emerging Nations," of the 1995 Western Political Science Association Meeting, Portland, Oregon.

Special Interests and Skills:

Policy Interests:

  • Middle Eastern Politics
  • Islamic resurgence
  • transnational terrorism
  • national security policy
  • religion and politics in contemporary American society

Languages:

  • Persian
  • Arabic
  • French
  • German

Quantitative Methods:

  • econometrics
  • regression and times-series analysis
  • factor analysis
  • discriminant and cluster analysis

Honors and Awards:

  • John Leek Scholarship--University of Oklahoma, 1989-1992
  • United States Department of Defense Foreign Languages and Area Studies Fellowship--University of Utah, Summer 1989
  • Distinguished Graduate Awards in Honors Program and Philosophy-- Western Washington University, 1975

Personal Interests:

  • Powerlifting
  • Mountaineering and Hiking
  • Old and New Testament Biblical Studies
  • Non-Human Primates

References:

  • Ambassador Edwin G. Corr, University of Oklahoma, Director of Energy Institute of the Americas, Associate Director of the International Program Center
  • Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr. (USN, Ret.), University of Oklahoma, University Professor of Geopolitics emeritus, Senior Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies
  • Dr. James A. Aho, Professor of Sociology, Idaho State University
  • Dr. Stephen Sloan, Professor of Political Science, University of Oklahoma
  • Dr. Brent L. Smith, Professor and Chair, Department of Justice Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham
NIATEC National Science Foundation Information Assurance Directorate Department of Homeland Security CISSE Scholarship For Service