Austin Doctor

Bio

Austin Doctor, Ph.D., is the director of strategic initiatives at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education (NCITE) Center, the DHS Center of Excellence for Terrorism Prevention and Counterterrorism Research. He is an associate professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He has held additional appointments as a fellow with the Modern War Institute at the United States Military Academy at West Point as well as the National Strategic Research Institute, a Department of Defense University Affiliated Research Center. He is a member of the 2025 McCain Institute National Security and Counterterrorism Fellowship cohort. 

Doctor leads interdisciplinary teams focused on tackling complex challenges to U.S. homeland security and defense. He has more than a decade of experience in the study of emerging threats, domestic and international terrorism, irregular warfare, and violent non-state actors. He works in close collaboration with leaders and practitioners across law enforcement, defense, and intelligence. Doctor's research is published in Terrorism and Political Violence, Perspectives on Terrorism, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, International Studies Quarterly, Parameters, the CTC Sentinel, and other leading peer-review academic journals. His work is regularly featured in major media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, the Washington Post, and Voice of America.

Doctor and his family are proud to call the Great Plains home.

Research Interests

Education

B.A. History; Covenant College

Ph.D. Political Science and International Affairs; University of Georgia

Selected Publications

Doctor, A. C., & Walsh, J. I. (2021). The coercive logic of militant drone use. The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters, 51(2), 73-84.

Doctor, A. C., & Hunter, S. T. (2023) The Future of Terrorist Use of Improvised Explosive Devices: Getting in Front of an Evolving Threat. CTC Sentinel 16(11),  41-51

Doctor, A. C., Hunter, S. T., & Ligon, G. S. (2023). Militant Leadership and Terrorism in Armed Conflict. Terrorism and Political Violence 36(6), 740–756. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2023.2189972

Doctor, A. C., & Willingham, J. D. (2020). Foreign Fighters, Rebel Command Structure, and Civilian Targeting in Civil War. Terrorism and Political Violence, 34(6), 1125–1143. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2020.1763320