Dr. Bruce Hoffman

These Dis-United States: The Rising Threat of Domestic Terrorism Across the Political Spectrum

Bruce Hoffman is a leading authority on terrorism, insurgency, and political violence, with a career that spans more than four decades of groundbreaking research, scholarship, and advice to governments and international organizations.

He is currently a tenured professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service and has been the director of the university’s undergraduate Center for Jewish Civilization and also of its graduate-level Center for Security Studies and the Security Studies Master of Arts Program.

In addition, he is Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security at the Council on Foreign Relations; Senior Fellow at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY; professor emeritus of terrorism studies at St Andrews University, Scotland; and an adjunct professor at the International Institute of Counterterrorism, Herzliya, Israel, and at Charles Stuart University, Canberra, Australia. He previously held the Chair in Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency at the RAND Corporation.

Dr. Hoffman’s academic career has been distinguished by his wide-ranging contributions to the study of terrorism, with a particular focus on the strategic, operational, and ideological aspects of violent extremist movements. His influential book Inside Terrorism is widely regarded as a foundational text in the field, offering a deep dive into the history, motivations, and evolution of terrorism. His most recent book, with co-author Jacob Ware, is God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America, published by Columbia University Press in 2024. He was appointed by the U.S. Congress to serve as a commissioner on the Independent Commission to Review the FBI’s Post-9/11 Response to Terrorism and Radicalization and was a lead author of the commission’s final report. For the past twenty-six years, he has been editor-in-chief of the scholarly journal Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, which Google Scholar ranks as the most widely cited and consulted journal in the “Military Studies” category. He has advised governments and military institutions around the world on combating terrorism and radicalization.

Professor Hoffman holds degrees in government, history, and international relations and received his doctorate from Oxford University. In 1994, the Director of Central Intelligence awarded him the United States Intelligence Community Seal Medallion, the highest level of commendation given to a non-government employee, recognizing “sustained superior performance of high value that distinctly benefits the interests and national security of the United States.”