I am Marie Curie Fellow at Queen’s University, Belfast, and hold a Ph.D. (2005) in sociology from Columbia University. I am an accidental scholar of social movements. My doctoral dissertation examines rule and identity in late medieval Cyprus. I did not search for social movements in that context, and probably I would not have found any had I done so. However, back when I was preparing my doctoral dissertation proposal, and in anticipation of the rejection of it, I had a Plan B: to develop research I had done on the side on the armed anti-colonial campaign in Cyprus in 1955-9. Eventually that research line proved more successful than my dissertation research line (maybe modern gore sells better than pre-modern gore) and, one thing leading to another, I am now writing a book on the legitimization of violence in Ireland and Cyprus. But I have also another book in the making, a comparison of various episodes of social movement radicalization, co-authored with Eitan Alimi and Lorenzo Bosi (two scholars whose dedication to the study of social movements puts my dedication to shame). And given my predilection for side projects, I have pursued in recent years an interest in the study of processual theory and method, which includes the discourse on (social/causal/explanatory) mechanisms.

Research interests: violence legitimization, radicalization, Ireland, Cyprus, and process/mechanism