Marta Furlan
Marta Furlan holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of St Andrews. Her doctoral dissertation studied Salafi-Jihadist rebel governance from a comparative and multi-dimensional perspective using as case studies al-Qaeda in Yemen, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and the Islamic State. Her doctoral research project was funded by the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St Andrews.
Dr Furlan’s research investigates how Islamist armed groups engage in practices of governance and what factors explain those groups’ behaviour as rebel rulers. Most recently, in the framework of the Generating Respect Project conducted by the University of York and Geneva Call, Dr Furlan focused her investigation on whether religious leaders and tribal chiefs can contribute to promoting international humanitarian law (IHL) among Islamist armed groups in conflict-affected contexts.
Dr Furlan’s work has been published in Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Civil War, The Middle East Journal, Israel Affairs, Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, and is forthcoming in the Journal of Human Rights Practice. She also contributed chapters to two edited volumes: D. Fiammenghi (ed.) The Evolution of Islamic Terrorism (Novi Ligure: Epoké, 2020); A. Alijla, I. Frihat (eds.) Rebel Governances in the Middle East, (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023). Beyond the academy, Dr Furlan has actively worked to engage a broader general audience with her research. Her work has been featured in Political Violence at a Glance and Armed Groups and International Law. She has also consulted with think tanks and NGOs.
