Michael J. Schumacher, PhD

About

Dr. Michael J. Schumacher’s teaching and research lies at the intersection of Criminal Justice and Global Studies. His research analyzes why individuals become involved in contentious, especially violent, forms of criminal and political behavior, and he relies on a variety of techniques to demonstrate the individual, social, and structural logics behind violent action. His research has been published in several academic journals including Critical Studies on Terrorism, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Democracy and Security, Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, Peace & Change, Peace Review, and The Journal of North African Studies. His current book project seeks to understand why individuals make the extraordinary decision to become foreign fighters. His findings are based on years of research on two comparative case studies; the U.S. citizens who fought for the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) and the Tunisian citizens who fought for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Syrian Civil War (2011-Present). Field research for this project has taken him to Spanish Civil War archives in New York City, New York (USA) and Boston, Massachusetts (USA) and he has completed months of ethnographic interviews in Tunisia including with foreign fighter returnees, their families, and friends and colleagues who knew them. Aside from his research, Dr. Schumacher is also a College of Arts and Sciences “Master Teacher” who teaches classes across the fields of Criminal Justice and Global Studies including Terrorism, Political Violence, International Criminal Justice, and Social and Political Justice.

Degrees

Ph.D., Political Science, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2021

M.S., Politics & Government, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 2014

B.S., Politics & Government and History (double major), Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 2012

Research Interests

Foreign Fighter Phenomenon

Causes and Consequences of Terrorism and Political Violence

Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding

Impact of Violent Non-State Actors on Policymaking

Courses Taught

CJC 101 Criminal Justice in a Global Context

CJC 336 Political Violence 

CJC 337 Terrorism

CJC 378/416 International Criminal Justice

Selected Publications

Schumacher, Michael J. 2023. “From Partition to Peace? A Retrospective on Religion and Reconciliation in Palestine/Israel.” Peace Review 35(1) (April): 62-71.

Schumacher, Michael J. 2023. “A Holy Peace: Sacred Values, Collective Identity, and the Future of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.” Peace & Change 48 (1) (January): 21-38.

Schumacher, Michael J. 2021. “Critical Junctures in Terrorism Studies: The Arab Spring and the New Twenty-First Century Security Environment.” Critical Studies on Terrorism 14 (4) (December): 470-473.

Schumacher, Michael J., and Peter J. Schraeder. 2021. “Does Domestic Political Instability Foster Terrorism? Global Evidence from the Arab Spring Era (2011-14).” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 44 (3) (February): 198-222.

Schraeder, Peter J., and Michael J. Schumacher. 2020. “Collective Action, Foreign Fighting, and the Global Struggle for the Islamic State.” Democracy and Security 16 (3) (August): 234-259.

Schumacher, Michael J., and Peter J. Schraeder. 2020. “A ‘Tale of Two Jihadis?’ Improperly Conflating Terrorists and Foreign Fighters in the Arab Spring.” Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression 12 (2) (April): 118-139.

Schumacher, Michael J., and Peter J. Schraeder. 2019. “The Evolving Impact of Violent Non-state Actors on North African Foreign Polices during the Arab Spring: Insurgent Groups, Terrorists, and Foreign Fighters.” Journal of North African Studies 24 (4) (July): 682-703.