Faculty
Zacharias Pieri
Associate Professor
Contact
Home Campus: Sarasota-Manatee
Office: C208
Telephone: (941) 359-4200
Email
Bio
Dr. Zacharias Pieri is an Associate Professor of International Relations and National Security at the University of South 皇家华人 (皇家华人). He is author of four books, and numerous peer-reviewed articles which focus on the relationships between religion, politics, and violence. His recent work focuses on great power competition in West Africa, the rise of China and Russia in that region and how they intersect with/impact the dynamics of violent extremism. He is an expert on terrorism and has led projects on Islamist extremism in west Africa, including Boko Haram, Islamic State affiliates, and Al-Qaeda affiliates. He is also interested in the ways technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are impacting how extremist groups operate both in the US and abroad, as well as the cultural ecosystems of extremist groups.
At 皇家华人, as well as teaching classes and supervising graduate students, Pieri served
on the Task Force for Strategic Planning which oversaw the writing of the University's
Strategic Plan (2022-2027). He is also a member of the Provost鈥檚 Advisory Group on
Academic Analytics.
He regularly advises UK and US governments on aspects of conflict in Africa. He gave
a keynote address at the annual Flintlock training exercise in Mauritania in 2020.
He was awarded his PhD in Ethno-Politics from the University of Exeter where he established himself as a world expert on the Tablighi Jamaat movement. His Masters degree is in Modern Middle East Studies (with distinction) and also from Exeter. Prior to that he graduated from the University of St. Andrews with a double major in International Relations and History.
Research
Books:
Pieri, Zacharias & Kevin Fridy. 2025 (forthcoming). Governance, Grievance, and Violent Extremism in West Africa: From the Caliphates to Great Power Competition. Boulder, CO.: Lynne Rienner Press.
Pieri, Zacharias. 2019. Boko Haram & The Drivers of Islamist Violence. London & New York: Routledge.
Pieri, Zacharias. 2015. Tablighi Jamaat & The Quest for the London Mega Mosque. London & New York: Palgrave.
Selected Articles:
Fisher, T., Pieri, Z., Howell, CJ., O鈥橫alley, R., Tremblay, L. & M. Dawoud. 2025. 鈥淰endor Communication Themes in Darknet Ransom-as-a-Service (RaaS) Advertisements鈥�. Computers in Human Behavior. 165.
Pieri, Zacharias & Ahmad Partaw. 2024. 鈥淟earning the Lessons of Afghanistan?: The Changing Prospects of Negotiations Between JNIM and the Malian Government.鈥� Small Wars & Insurgencies.
Pieri, Z., Fox, M-J., Lahoud, L., & J. Zen. 2023. 鈥淏oko Haram鈥檚 Child Soldiers: Media Mujahids, Martyrs, and Militants.鈥� Terrorism and Political Violence.
Pieri, Zacharias and Jessica Grosholz. 2023. 鈥淪oldiers of the Faith: A Comparative Analysis of White Power Songs and Islamic State Nasheeds.鈥� Deviant Behavior.
Grosholz, Jessica, and Zacharias Pieri. 2020 鈥樷�淎 Skinhead at Heart with a Hate-Filled Mind鈥�: Understanding The Themes Present in White Power Music鈥�, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism.
Pieri, Zacharias and Jacob Zenn. 2016. 鈥淭he Boko Haram Paradox: Ethnicity, Religion, and Historical Memory in Pursuit of a Caliphate鈥�, African Security, 9:1, pp. 66-88
Teaching
Dr. Pieri鈥檚 teaching interests are in the areas of international relations, and in global and national security, including:
- Conflict in the World
- Great Power Competition
- Extremism, terrorism & Political Violence
- Social and Religious Movements
- Qualitative Methodologies
- African Security
- Technology, AI, Information
Dr. Pieri is available to supervise Ph.D. candidates in areas relating to global and national security. He particularly welcomes students who want to focus on religion, extremism and conflict, Islamist/jihadist movements, ethnonationalist separatism in the US, and the impacts of technology and AI on extremism.