Erica Barbarossa
Senior Research Lead, Center on Terrorism, Extremsim, and Counterterrorism
Erica Barbarossa is the Senior Research Lead for the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism. Prior to this position, Erica worked as a Graduate Research Assistant for CTEC’s online extremism project, which led to her interest in online extremism and radicalization. Other interests include accelerationism, right-wing terrorism, and Russian area studies. Before her involvement with the Middlebury Institute, Erica served as a William J. Fulbright English Teaching Assistant finalist in the Russian Federation. Erica has master’s degrees in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies from the Middlebury Institute and in International Relations – Global Security, Nuclear Politics, and WMD Proliferation from Moscow State Institute of International Studies (MGIMO). She received her bachelor’s in Russian and Slavic Studies from New York University.
Publications
Barbarossa, Erica, and Isabela Bernardo. “Cranking out Violence: Conspiracies Are Driving More Politically-Motivated Attacks.” Global Network on Extremism and Terrorism, 23 Nov. 2022, https://gnet-research.org/2022/11/23/cranking-out-violence-conspiracies-are-driving-more-politically-motivated-attacks/.
Blazakis, Jason, Matthew Kriner, Erica Barbarossa, and Eli Drachman. “The Weaponization of Conspiracy Theories: A Growing National Security Threat.” Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, 25 July 2022. https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/ctec/ctec-publications/weaponization-conspiracy-theories-growing.
Kriner, Matthew, Erica Barbarossa, and Isabela Bernardo. “The Buffalo Terrorist Attack: Situating Lone Actor Violence into the Militant Accelerationism Landscape.” Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, 26 July 2022. https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/ctec/ctec-publications/buffalo-terrorist-attack-situating-lone-actor.
Barbarossa, Erica. “The Proud Boys’ Fabricated Expedition to Ukraine.” Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, 3 Mar. 2022, https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/ctec/ctec-publications/proud-boy-fabricated-expedition-ukraine.
Barbarossa, Erica. “Understanding Accelerationist Narratives: Involuntary Celibacy.” Global Network on Extremism and Terrorism, 2 Feb. 2022, https://gnet-research.org/2022/01/27/understanding-accelerationist-narratives-involuntary-celibacy/.
Barbarossa, Erica. “The United States’ Withdrawal from Afghanistan and The Rise of the Taliban: How This Affects Russia and the Future of US-Russian Relations.” The CTEC Newsletter, 31 Jul. 2021, https://www.ctec-middlebury.org/p/ctec-newsletter-4-junejuly-2021
Barbarossa, Erica. “Russia and the Central Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone.” PIR Center, 23 Dec. 2019, www.pircenter.org/en/blog/view/id/378.