J.M. Berger

J.M. Berger is a Senior Research Fellow at CTEC and a PhD candidate at the Swansea University School of Law, researching extremism, including theory, ideology and propaganda.  

Berger is the author of three non-fiction books: Extremism (MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series, 2018), ISIS: The State of Terror (with Dr. Jessica Stern, 2015), and Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam (2011). His debut novel Optimal (2020) is “an absorbing story that skewers reliance on social media” (Kirkus Reviews).  

In addition to his academic work, Berger consults for technology companies and government agencies on issues related to homegrown terrorism, online extremism, foreign fighters, disinformation, and advanced techniques for social media analysis.  

Berger is also a research fellow with the VOX-Pol Network of Excellence, a former non-resident fellow with The Brookings Institution, and a former member of the Independent Advisory Committee of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism. He has testified as an expert on terrorism and extremism before the U.S. House and Senate and has written for The Atlantic.